A little over a year ago, the well-renowned Busch Wildlife Sanctuary moved to a new home in Jupiter to become even more of a savior for animals that need rehabilitation and healing. This nonprofit wildlife center almost tripled in size at its new, expansive, natural campus.
Now on 20 acres, Busch Wildlife Sanctuary supports the rehab and release of animals brought through its doors, and the staff care for those that can’t be returned to their natural habitats. They provide emergency and ongoing medical care to 6,000 sick, injured, or orphaned animals every year, accepting more than 50 animals a day.
My animal-loving adult son and I recently took a trip there to check out what sounded like an impressive new refuge, located in west Jupiter just off Indiantown Road on Rocky Pines Road.
Billed as a “one-of-a-kind encounter and opportunity for education about Florida’s unique wild animals and natural environment,” Busch Wildlife Sanctuary proved to indeed be a rare find and a perfect place to bring injured wildlife. They report that 90% of the animals treated in their rehab center had suffered from human-related injuries, which was one of many sobering facts we learned there.
The good news is that many of the rehabilitated animals are released back into natural habitats across Palm Beach County. Those with injuries that are too severe to return to the wild become permanent residents of the sanctuary.
“Our animal residents are ambassadors to educate and inspire people to engage in local conservation efforts,” according to the facility. “We want to raise an active community of people who cherish, enjoy, and protect the wildlife and our natural environment.”
My visit there was soon after a hurricane-spawned tornado had swept through the region. An employee told me that the animals had been safely brought into the property’s Category 5 building, which was built to withstand hurricanes and other natural disasters. All animals, structures, and habitats were unharmed that week, with the exception of a few newly planted trees onsite.
My son and I walked around the well-landscaped grounds and saw many different kinds of animals. Included at the property are black bears, Florida bobcats, river otters, bald eagles, water birds, raccoons, foxes, alligators, small tortoises, gopher tortoises, box turtles, and more. There is a Songbird Garden, Birds of Prey Trail, Reptile Complex, and Small Mammal Complex.
We met Charlie, a 5-year-old mountain lion who had been trafficked in California in the illegal pet trade. He was kept as a pet and declawed on all four paws. State officials eventually rescued him and gave him to the nonprofit Conservation Ambassadors, who cared for him for a couple years. Then Charlie made the trek this year in a transport van from California to Florida, where he will live out his life in the sanctuary.
Just on the other side of the fence from Charlie’s large natural habitat, we saw another big cat, a cougar that had been rescued from a forest fire in California. The two animals couldn’t share an enclosure, but they both like to run alongside the fence that separated them and playfully interact with each other from either side, to ours and other visitors’ amusement. We also got to see two bears that do share a habitat, because they are sisters that were rescued together.
Held daily at the site’s Educational Amphitheater is a “Conservation Conversation,” which is an informational and entertaining presentation by two park employees with their “animal ambassadors.” Seated on wooden benches in this lovely natural setting, we got to hear about these animals’ stories and see them close up as one staffer brought them into the audience for everybody to experience. Our ambassadors that day were a gopher turtle, an opossum, and a tiny, one-eyed owl. We learned what caused these animals to initially come to the sanctuary, why they were permanent residents there, and what humans can do better to protect our native wildlife.
There are lots of other opportunities for education about wildlife conservation at this sanctuary. Various educational activities are held daily at some of the animal habitats, and visitors get to have a rare close-up view of some amazing, beautiful creatures.
Admission to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary is by donation. Every dollar counts to help save and nurture these animals, and we were happy to donate to this noble cause.
For more information, go to www.buschwildlife.org.