Appalachian Wildlife Refuge

This #givingtuesday we have a goal of $42,000— the cost we need to cover to ensure we can feed all of our wildlife patients in 2025, especially as we continue to grow and take on more. And we can only do that with your help. We have been so fortunate to have support from passionate animal-loving individuals like yourself and it doesn’t stop there. Our volunteers come in daily, finding time in their busy lives and for no compensation other than fulfillment, to guarantee that our facility can run as smoothly as possible even in our busiest times. With their time, their love, and their efforts, we have taken in over 8,300 wild ones since our conception in 2014. We certainly couldn’t do the work we are doing at the level we are doing it without their help. Their help and yours can make a monumental difference in how our Appalachia beauty is sustained and ultimately will thrive, especially in such a tumultuous time as is now in a post-Helene environment. Thank you, to all of our volunteers, and to you, our supporters far and wide. You can donate at https://lnkd.in/eMrcvFqZ or through the links in our bio. To reach this goal, we need your help. But, we know how you have sustained and encouraged us through the years and we are confident we can get there. #givingback #givingseason #thankful #hurricanehelene #ashevillestrong #appalachia #wildanimals #nonprofit

Want to tag along for one of our wildlife releases? Read more about how you can join! Coming to Appalachian Wildlife Refuge today, we drove up to our facility covered in the first real snow of the season and we were all THRILLED. And clearly, our ambassador African Goose, Goo, was too! To celebrate this wonderful winter wonderland day and all of your support this #givingtuesday thus far, we have decided to add in gifts for your generous donations (including for those that already have donated). At each donation level, you will receive that gift to thank you for your generosity as well as all of those above? ?? $50: One raffle entry for you and three others to participate in one our patient releases-- and trust us, this is an absolutely AMAZING moment that you won't soon forget ??? $250: Professional 11”x14” inch matted wildlife print ?? $500: 12”x12” one-of-a-kind “Animal Tracks” canvas painted by some of our ambassador animals ?? $1,000: A plaque with your name or organization placed in the refuge ?? $2,500: An invitation to participate in a meet-and-greet at our facility, where you will get to meet ambassador wildlife, such as the infamous Footloose and the amazing Crash, accompanied by light food and beverages and a tour of the property You can donate at https://lnkd.in/eMrcvFqZ or through the link in our bio. With your help, we are confident we will reach our goal of $42,000 and feed ALL of our patients that come in to our care in 2025! ?? #wildlife #animallovers #wildliferescue #asheville #wildanimals #blackbear #beaver #babyanimals #nonprofit?

Did you know that there are only TWO facilities in North Carolina that are permitted to care for black bear cubs? And only one in Western NC?! That one is Appalachian Wildlife Refuge. These cubs are a huge reason for our goal of $42,000 for #givingtuesday this year— to feed all of our patients that come to our facility in 2025. Since 2020, our facility has cared for 45 cubs. On average, black bear cubs are with us for 5-6 months. And that’s if they are fully rehabbed in time for fall— if they miss that timeframe, we will have to overwinter them to ensure success the following fall. These long stays are already expensive based on length of time, but even more so because the cubs are by far our most expensive patients in all aspects. Medical supplies, care, enclosures, and most importantly, food. On average, we spend roughly $20,000 to $30,000 each year on the cubs’ food. And that’s based on how many we have at the time and their needs. For instance, last year we had 12 cubs that we cared for with the cost of roughly $35,000 in food. That food primarily consists of formula when they first come in with a very specific nutritional palette. As they grow, their meals develop into an omnivorous diet with fresh produce, live prey, and many other snacks. Given that our only other facility that can rehabilitate black bear cubs in North Carolina is 3 hours away, we take in a large number of cubs each year. With your help, we can take in even more black bear cubs in 2025 and provide them wonderful, hearty meals. As many of you know, black bears are one of the most loved and enjoyed creatures in our Appalachian home. And I’m sure through even this small snippet you can tell why. Donate through the link in our bio or at https://lnkd.in/dnV5M7gR and help these wonderful critters get back to their wild homes so you can enjoy sighting them every once in a while from your porch. Can’t donate? Please share our posts so we can gain more support far and wide and be sure to interact with them all to help them stay top of feed! #blackbear #blackbearcubs #bears #asheville #bear #bearcub #babyanimals #wildliferescue

Every single day, we receive wildlife patients which are at their absolute lowest points. Hit by cars. Attacked by pets. Ingested rat poison. Harassed by humans. And unfortunately, not all of our patients make it after arriving in critical condition, despite tireless efforts from our team. But with those losses, there come MANY successes. This possum came to us September 19th after being ruthlessly attacked by a dog. Fortunately no broken bones, but many deep puncture wounds causing large pockets of air beneath the skin and ultimately requiring intensive vet care. November 26th, that possum was released. Two months of long hours and immense effort— both from our team and our intake as well, doing incredible in their efforts to recuperate— led to this incredible moment. Possums are omnivores though and two months of even just feeding an adult accumulates hefty costs. This #givingtuesday we are aiming to raise $42,000 at Appalachian Wildlife Refuge, which would feed all of our patients in 2025. Could you help? Donate at https://lnkd.in/dnV5M7gR or at the link in our bio. Can’t donate? Please share so our mission can spread far and wide! With your help, we can continue sharing successes of our favorite marsupial friends ?? #possums #possum #wildlife #wildanimals #wildliferescue #asheville #opossum

So grateful for all of the support we received during the Land Rover competition, where in a post-Helene time we weren't able to advocate for ourselves. Because of supporters like Christopher, we won in our category and are thrilled that we will be bringing home a Land Rover Defender 130 and a $25,000 cash donation!

As we recuperate from a very full and loving Thanksgiving holiday, we also find that we had a lot of time to reflect on what we are thankful for as we all sat and celebrated with our loved ones. Of course, we are so thankful for our coworkers, our volunteers, and our interns. Without them all, we wouldn’t be able to do anywhere near the amount of good for our local wildlife as we do— and to do so for over a decade now is an absolute blessing! But we are also beyond thankful for all of you. Our supporters that live within our WNC community and those that live a 20-hour flight away. You have shared our story. You have donated so much to us, not only monetarily and through our animal care wishlists, but also throughout the chaos that was post-Helene WNC. You supported our community. You supported our local wildlife rehabbers. And you supported us. We’re not sure what would have happened to Appalachian Wildlife Refuge if you hadn’t stepped up as you all did to help, but thankfully we don’t have to imagine that scenario. As we approach #givingtuesday, we humbly ask for your support again. Every year we spend roughly $42,000 solely on food for our patients— and that’s even after generous food donations from local organizations. Formula, fresh produce, fish, and much more do not come cheap and we have a goal of reaching that this #givingtuesday. We can’t do it without you and we ask that you consider Appalachian Wildlife Refuge as you choose which nonprofit to support on Tuesday. Whether that be monetary donations or just sharing our story with your friends and family, everything helps to make sure our Appalachian beauty stays wild, as it should! Thank you again, for all you have done for us this year. And cheers to continuing to fight the good fight for our WNC critters! ?? #wildlife #nonprofit #animals #givingback #hurricanehelene #asheville #support #wildliferescue #wildanimals

At Appalachian Wildlife Refuge, we couldn't be as successful as we are without the help of our volunteers. In this video, Elaine Bailey Anderson gives us her insider perspective on everything Appalachian Wildlife-- from rewarding moments to more challenging ones, successful releases, and of course our favorite spokesduck Footloose. Has this inspired you to volunteer with us at our facility? Reach out to us via email at [email protected] Don't have the time or are supporters from afar? No problem! Consider donating to our mission on our website at www.AppalachianWild.org. There, you can make monetary donations or even buy much needed supplies for our facility off of our Amazon wishlist. Please like, comment, share, and subscribe so we can continue spreading our mission, education, and all the wondrous interactions with our local Western North Carolina wildlife. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and we hope you enjoy the first of many videos in our Volunteer Interview series! https://lnkd.in/eijC44j5

This bobwhite quail came in on June 7th, with a degloving issue caused by a predator. Our finders watched him hanging around their neighborhood, walking around as it foraged for foods. Eventually, they were able to catch this beautiful bird and bring them to our facility. When she arrived, she was completely missing all of the skin and feathers on her right flank. As she is a bird, vet wrap is pretty difficult to use and have correctly stick due to her feathers, so we lathered her up in Medihoney (one of our favorites at Appalachian Wildlife!). Medihoney is a brand of Manuka honey, which is super thick and stays on extremely well. We kept her in an isolated environment as birds are extremely prone to stress and need as little noise as possible, and with lots of Medihoney and supervision, our quail friend only got better and better. We were able to release her last month and it was an instant success! With lots of chirping and trotting around, she went off and we wish her the best! Our team needs lots of help for success stories like this, though. With monetary donations or purchases from our Amazon wishlist, we are able to save local wildlife like this bobwhite quail and so many others. Consider helping out our team so we can continue to do this for years to come and share all the awesome releases with you all! ???? #quail #appalachianwild #asheville #wildanimals #animalrescue #wildlife #wildliferescue #828isgreat www.AppalachianWild.org

This bobwhite quail came in on June 7th, with a degloving issue caused by a predator. Our finders watched him hanging around their neighborhood, walking around as it foraged for foods. Eventually, they were able to catch this beautiful bird and bring them to our facility. When she arrived, she was completely missing all of the skin and feathers on her right flank. As she is a bird, vet wrap is pretty difficult to use and have correctly stick due to her feathers, so we lathered her up in Medihoney (one of our favorites at Appalachian Wildlife!). Medihoney is a brand of Manuka honey, which is super thick and stays on extremely well. We kept her in an isolated environment as birds are extremely prone to stress and need as little noise as possible, and with lots of Medihoney and supervision, our quail friend only got better and better. We were able to release her last month and it was an instant success! With lots of chirping and trotting around, she went off and we wish her the best! Our team needs lots of help for success stories like this, though. With monetary donations or purchases from our Amazon wishlist, we are able to save local wildlife like this bobwhite quail and so many others. Consider helping out our team so we can continue to do this for years to come and share all the awesome releases with you all! ???? #quail #appalachianwild #asheville #wildanimals #animalrescue #wildlife #wildliferescue #828isgreat www.AppalachianWild.org