TFN Jrs Visit the Toronto Wildlife Center

The TFN Juniors paid a very memorable visit to the Toronto Wildlife Center on Nov 9th. We learned that over 6275 wild wounded animals and 61 species had already been treated there this year. 

Before the program started, we visited the ‘museum’ which had displays about the hazards wild animals face in an urban environment, or anywhere they live side by side with human beings. Examples are fishing lines and hooks, garbage containers that may attract and then trap them, off-leash dogs, roaming cats, and dangerous windows. When brought to the Toronto Wildlife Center, animals might revive through simple protection and observation, or may be rehabilitated through surgery or other medical intervention. Birds that are victims of window collisions and picked up by FLAP patrollers, are brought to the TWC, during spring and fall migration.

The program was excellent, and we all enjoyed the four hands-on tables that helped us bond with wild animals and understand ways we can help them. We rotated between these, so everybody had a chance to learn at each center.  Before each rotation to a new center, a short video-clip was played which brought the work of the TWC to life. One of the clips, for example, showed how Coyote pups were raised to avoid them bonding with human beings and then safely released. 

At one center we matched animal tracks with the animal species that made them. What better way to become aware of the creatures in the environment around us? At another center we dipped bird feathers in vegetable oil and learned how hard it is to restore feathers that get coated with grease. At a third center we made cat toys which could keep our cats busy and amused when we make the wise decision to keep them indoors. At the fourth center we learned about the intelligence and life cycle of coyotes. We should value them for their role in the ecosystem, and know when to be cautious around them. Finally at the end we met the Snapping Turtle named ‘Hotdog’ and learned about how difficult it is to care for an animal that is taken out of the wild.

Thanks to TFN for providing an honorarium to the TWC and allowing us to spend a wonderful morning there learning from staff and volunteers.

Toronto Field Naturalists wishes to acknowledge this Land through which we walk. For thousands of years, the Land has been shared by the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe. Toronto is situated on the Land within the Toronto Purchase, Treaty 13, the traditional and treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is also part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum, a covenant agreement between Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Wendat peoples and allied nations to peaceably share the land and all its resources. Today, the Land is home to peoples of numerous nations. We are all grateful to have the opportunity to continue to care for and share the beauty of this Land.