Athena's Wildlife Sanctuary

Athena's Wildlife Sanctuary Athena's Wildlife Sanctuary is committed to the care for sick injured and orphaned wildlife with the goal of rehabilitation and release of native species.

As well as to promote conservation and understanding through education. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization; everything we do is dependent on kind donations to help with the rescued wildlife, we can take donations through PayPal at this email. PayPal address: [email protected] or paypal.me/wildlifeathena
Visiting our facility is by appointment only

12/11/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ...
I apologize for being absent for a while, however due to the ongoing medical issues ... Unfortunately, Athena's is closing permanently. We will miss working with the community and helping the animals, however we do not have the man power to keep up with the human needs and the animal needs.
Thank you for the support and help over the years.
God bless everyone !!

06/05/2024

Due to a family emergency, we are unable to help with any wildlife rescues, drop offs etc. for an indefinite amount of time. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. If you need help with wildlife that you have found, please call 888-404-3922 this is the fwc dispatch office. They will hopefully assist you in finding nearby rehabber.

08/07/2023

Always...

08/01/2023

This is a shout out to all my fellow rehabbers! This was shared to me a few years ago and it hits the spot. I know sometimes its hard to have patience for the rescue team to get there but this quote is the embodiment of us all. Be safe out there, watch for critter crossings and thank you for helping us!

A Life Lived

I may not ever taste the salt of the seven seas upon my tongue. I may not climb the world’s vast vistas, contemplating what to conquer next. My face will never be captured in a thousand pictures from hundreds of exotic locations. I am unlikely to be found wedged into a stadium seat beside you. They will never mistake me for the life of the party, because I am not the type to be in a crowd, much less stand out in one. I do not embrace a life of entertainment and noise, of people who are intoxicated by the sights and sounds of an artificial existence.

My quiet life of caring and love means something. I save animals.

You will know a thousand laughs, and look past a million strangers without ever seeing them. While you revel in excess and become ever more numb to the reality of the world around you, I will embrace a life of quiet and fortitude. I will patch together the broken pieces of the world you care so little about. I will look upon you with sorrow, because my life, that you think is so empty and barren, is full of the kind of love you will never know.

My life is not convenient, it is not easy, but it means something. I save animals.

I will know what it is to feel a weakened soul grow stronger from my efforts. I will lose sleep, but I will rest with the peace of mind only those who live a life of giving know. I will hold in my hand that which society has forgotten, and I will remember every cry, every whimper and every moment of that precious time. I will be Mother Nature’s warrior. I will fight for every life, knowing I will not win every battle.

I bear the scars of a thousand terrified souls proudly, each one a badge of honor and evidence that I made a difference. I save animals.

I will cry a million tears and believe that I can make a difference, in the face of all evidence to the contrary. I will know the smell and touch of the innocent. I will whisper and hold them, taking away their fear. I will feel their pain as their soul departs to a better place. I will weep uncontrollable tears as I bury their limp body with the honor and care they so richly deserve. I will nurse, care and fight for the forgotten. I will wrap my hands around their broken bodies and I will heal those that can be healed. I will know and remember their loss with every breath I take.

I will tread on the edge of a darkness you refuse to see, and I will be the light. I save animals.

I am the haggard person standing beside you in the market. I am one of the million strangers you walk by without seeing. I walk with my head down to hide the pain. I get up every morning feeling the weight of the world upon me, because I know that I cannot save them all, but I can try. I will do my part, and I will do yours too.

You do not know me, and you don’t understand me, but I am important to the world. I save animals.

SGG 2018

05/21/2023

It has been a busy busy busy baby season !
Baby season started slow persay .. one at a time for a few days and then boom! Several calls a day for owlettes, hawks, possums, baby birds you name it and they called! At first we have been able to renest most (80%) of the babys that have came in .. we even reunited a momma possum with her babys that had fell out of her pouch because she was taking a nap on the canopy roof ! Lupe stood on a chair and one by one placed babys near her and they went pstpstpst all the way back to mom!
As you have seen, avian babys grow quickly and are opened mouthed begging one day and fledglings the next!
The older red shoulder fledglings are almost ready to go home now..
Our eastern screech owlettes are showing us how tough they are and are gravitating to the live food bowl now.

All around for the most part everything is going the right direction.
So yesterday another one of our calls was a red shoulder adult trapped in a screen in pool area. Some of the storms we have been having are very windy and all around been nasty.
The home we went to yesterday experienced the bad part of the storm and part of the screening had been ripped out. On that note here comes mr red shoulder chasing a lizard, squrriel or even song bird that happens to duck into that hole. The hawks don't see the black screening like we do, they don't realize its there. Nor do the hawks understand the concept of a door hehe .. so... we went down and helped Mr hawk out of the screened area. He had been in there for two days running into the screen.

So if this sort of thing happens to you in your screened area, here are some tips to help es**rt Mr hawk or owl or whatever finds their way in back out to the outside world.

Remember whatever it is you are trying to help is going to defend itself because to them you are a predator (eyes forward is predator; eyes on the side is prey). Be prepared with a towel, blanket or just something in general to cover them with. Taking away their sight by covering them will help keep them calm and make it easier to catch them.
If you have a nett you can gently try to scoop them up in the nett and cover it with a towel or blanket and then carry the entire kaboodle outside. Take the towel of and Mr intruder will make their escape.
Do keep in mind hawks are very quick with those feet and talons are sharp... bigger owls have 350 to 550 PSI in their grip... if you have welder gloves it might be a good idea to use them in an owls case.
You can use several people to make a wall with sheets towels or blanket to help correl the animal towards an open door.. this has worked in the past for animals that someone didn't dare try catch.
If none of that works.. give us call we will come help :) some animals can be very stubborn.
Soooo returning to our story of Mr red shoulder hawk .. he was swiftly caught and taken outside the screened pool area and released.. he did a couple fly by and and went on his merry way. Happy ending for all!

Thank you for everyones continued support with the wildlife... we couldn't do it with out you!
Happy Sunday!

So yesterday we had several calls for wildlife. As I have said in the past not all calls for rescue result in bringing ...
05/21/2023

So yesterday we had several calls for wildlife. As I have said in the past not all calls for rescue result in bringing the animal in for treatment.
In this post I'd like to do an educational segment.
Yesterday our caller Steve called about a racc**n he had trapped on his roof. He had been sitting his pool and seen this c**n run accross his roof to this hole in the soffit. We instantly knew this is a nursing momma. As you recall a few months back we had a call about a baby who fell through the attic access inside the house and was found in the bathroom of a home that was for sale. So from that experience we knew what to look for. Plus in working with Katherine @ 411 racc**n wildlife solutions she has helped us with reunites of baby's and mommy's.
We went down to verify this was a momma and to talk to the gentleman about his options.
Now relocation of c**ns is A) illegal unless you have permission of te property owner you are relocating to, B) a death sentence to the c**n you are relocating, and C) makes orphans of baby's in the attic and cruel to the mommy's because they fight to get back to there babies.
It's hard to see in the picture but this momma was full of milk and very angry in the trap.
I did check out the attic and saw 2 little eyes peering back at me when made mommy sounds.
Momma c**ns make dens in attics to keep baby's safe from other c**ns, especially males. They can be in the attic with these baby's up to 12 weeks.. as soon as those baby's are big enough to follow mom she leads them out of the attic den into a secondary den she has prepared. Momma being there is temporary.. she doesn't want to be around humans any more then you want to be around her.
What you can do if you find that a momma has taken up residence in you attic is to use non forceful ways to evict momma.
Lights and sound make the area unsuitable for her to have her baby's up there.

Human activity in the attic will discourage her from being up there.

Check your soffit and roof for holes and loose boards, if you suspect animal activity you can place a wad of newspaper or bags loosely in the hole to see if something is going in and out.

Use a trailcam to monitor area and or attic.

And remember, this housing roommate situation is temporary, the animal just wants a safe place to raise their baby's.

Steve was kind enough to work with us to reunite momma and babies and we will monitor with the help of Catherine that mom moves out so Steve can repair the soffit and hopefully put a closed forever for his attic.

We forget sometimes that we share our space with the wildlife. With all the developments and construction going on ... we are squeezing wildlife out of what little habitat they have left. There was a documentary about extinctions that are going on. Our planet has experienced several over the course of the years. I know that progress has to go on and humans have to live and thrive but I think that we can do better and be kinder to the animal life we are surrounded by. Eventually, we will see less and less and less of animals if we keep up the way we do things.

In a world where you can be anything, be kind, and the world will be a better place!

05/11/2023

Wow what a busy afternoon! First we had to get our red shoulder hawks that had surgery to the orthopedic vet for a check up. One was good and the other who we nicknamed Jones was a bad boy and pulled his pin out and had ro be repinned.... another $104.00 dollars cha-ching.

Then we had to go and assist the parks department with dumped Pekin ducks... whew they were quick but were weak enough we were able to wrangle them quickly to get them some much needed food and water. We also were able to place them in a new feather-ever home.. yay!
Then we had to go check on a baby screech on the ground too young to fly... and as usaul mom and dad was right there watching over baby. They both let us know they were there hehe our director was standing below pops and didn't know it and he let go and let her know he was there lol .. yep another change of clothes lol.
We also had two baby crows that fell from a nest in a big tree to high to put them back and also they were injured.
Then we had a baby wood pe**er call that also the nest cavity was to high to replace baby inside...
Good lordy we need a baby shower for all these babys lol
Again just like the prior post about costs, if you'd like to help us (which is greatly appreciated) we have a couple of ways to donate.
Thanks in advance to our wonderful supporters!

05/11/2023

UPDATE:
Ducks are caught , thank you lupe and family for helping

Never posted this type of stuff but today we need some help. The parks and rec department called me about this asking for help. So someone has dumped 4 Pekin ducks at Linda Pedersen park .. we need help catching them so we can get them some needed help. Anybody available to help catch some ducks? Text or call me on the office line 352-701-8464

05/11/2023

Its had to believe its already May 2023.. time is just flying by.
Our intake has taken a sharp upward hop lately due to injured hawks, baby hawks that have fallen out of the nest and can't be put back, and injured animals in general. Some of these injured patients have required surgery to repair the wings or legs. While most of the time, the vets we work with don't charge for their services ... however with extensive surgery we do have a cost the we pay to help the injured animal.

We also have had to build several screech owl nest boxes due to trees being cut down, pushed down or falling down. That has sent the costs for building supplies soaring. We have built 3 and placed 3 to reunite screech owl families. Each box with the lumber, building materials ( hinges , screws etc), sealers and etc is costing about 60 dollars.. not cheap indeed. However at the end of the day when the family is reunited it is so worth it.
I am reaching out to see if we can possibly get some helpnin the form of donations to help with these extra costs. Thus far we have had $300.00 in surgery costs for our hawk patients and a little native duck with a broken leg.
For the boxes we have spent $250.00 for the supplies needed to make them correctly so they were safe for these little feathered families.

The other big cost is our food bill ! All these babys coming in eat alot! But they are growing leaps and bounds everyday.

If you would like to help us with some of these costs or sponsor a screech owl box, sponsor a surgery patient and etc, reach out to Sherri our director on our office line 352-701-8464 or you can PayPal any donations directly to us.
We absolutely appreciate all the help and support. We couldn't do what we do without you guys!
Thank you advance !

This is alittle over due but thank you to everyone who has sent donations through our wishlist!! Some came with tags som...
05/09/2023

This is alittle over due but thank you to everyone who has sent donations through our wishlist!! Some came with tags some didn't so I am not sure who sent a few of the packages.
Thank you mandy for the formula and worms! The baby Joey's chowed down and had full tummys!
To the wonderful supporter who sent the incubator, thank you! It came just in time for baby screech owls! We have been to renest 80% of the babys coming in but they are a couple that we couldn't renest and they are safe and sound in their new incubator !

Thank you again everyone for the donations and support. We couldn't do what we do with out you!

Address

Brooksville, FL
34614

Telephone

+13527018464

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Athena's Wildlife Sanctuary posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Athena's Wildlife Sanctuary:

Shortcuts

Share

Category