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Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc. (WRR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of orphaned, injured, and displaced wildlife. WRR also provides permanent care for non-indigenous wild animals who have been victimized by the exotic pet trade, rescued from roadside zoos, or retired from research facilities. Indigenous wild animals who, due to severe injuries, have been deemed non-releasable are also given permanent care at the sanctuary.
Like all accredited sanctuaries, WRR is not open to the public and the animals are never placed on exhibit. Another function of WRR is to increase public awareness through educational outreach programs which focus on: wildlife protection, habitat preservation, and overall conservation of all wildlife, free roaming and captive.
The organization serves the city of San Antonio, all surrounding counties, as well as the entire state of Texas. WRR also provides assistance on a national basis to wild animals in need of rescue. WRR maintains a 24-hour animal emergency hotline available seven days a week, 365 days a year. WRR relies on the expertise of over 200 trained volunteers to respond to calls and provide hands on rescue.
Founded by Lynn Cuny in 1977, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc. (WRR) was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1978 with the purpose of providing rescue, rehabilitation and release of orphaned, injured and displaced wildlife and giving permanent care in large natural habitats to indigenous and non-indigenous wildlife, as well as wild animals who, due to severe injuries, have been deemed non-releasable. Prior to the founding of the organization, the general public was in the unfortunate position of being forced to deal with many wild animals, or rely on the services of the police and fire department, as no entity existed that was properly trained to humanely handle the many situations involving wild animals. Squirrels who had found their way into houses, raccoons in attics, and bats trapped in commercial buildings are just a few examples of the many types of rescues performed by this organization, In addition, WRR began responding to calls from the public to rescue orphaned wild animals whose parents had been poisoned, trapped, shot, or killed on our highways. With the arrival of an organization specializing in wildlife, new options became available to both the public and the animals. During the first year of operation, WRR rescued over 60 wild animals by responding to calls from the public and from police and fire departments. WRR also helped resolve many situations via its 24-hour wildlife emergency hot line.
Within just three years, the number of wild animals in need of assistance increased so dramatically the WRR moved from Ms. Cuny's back yard to a four acre site just outside the city limits of San Antonio. In addition to the increase in the number of animals rescued, donations from WRR's existing membership also increased. In 1980, the year the organization moved to its four acre site, WRR also took in the first member of an endangered species: a female North American timber wolf.
By 1985, Wildlife Rescue was taking in and caring for over 1,200 animals a year, including de-clawed bobcats and mountain lions who were victims of the exotic pet trade, orphaned raccoons, rabbits, opossums and squirrels, as well as injured hawks, owls and vultures. The four acre sanctuary was rapidly becoming inadequate in size and location. This fact was emphasized when the WRR sanctuary experienced a devastating flood in July of 1985. It was time to move on. By the spring of 1986, WRR had received enough funding to purchase and move to our 21 acre site 30 miles north of its former location.
By 1990, after 13 years of providing large, natural captive habitats for non-releasable animals and exceedingly high standards of care for wild animals in the rehabilitation process, WRR was recognized as one of the top rehabilitation sanctuaries in the United States, and is now one of only nine accredited sanctuaries in the United States recognized by The Association of Sanctuaries.
Today the organization's number of non-releasable wild animals has increased from the original one timber wolf to three timber wolves, thirteen mountain lions, four jaguars, three black bears and 70 primates. In addition, WRR is the permanent home for many species of non-releasable migratory birds and non-indigenous reptiles. Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Inc. rescues over 5,000 wild animals annually, provides a volunteer speaker's bureau to schools and civic organizations, and continues to maintain the 24-hour, 365 day-a-year, wildlife emergency hotline. WRR now has a membership of over 7,000 individuals, a volunteer group of 200, and 13 paid staff members.
For membership information or to make a donation by check, visit the WRR's web site.
Golden Wonders is proud to support the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation through expanding public awareness. For the rest of 1999 we will also donate $5 to WRR for each silver & gold cougar pin purchased online from our Wildlife jewelry section.
Although we encourage you to send checks directly to WRR, you may also donate on-line through us. This is a convenient way to make your gift as we will process it against your Master Card or VISA. However, please note two drawbacks to this method. First, a small percentage of your donation will not reach WRR due to bank fees we incur in the process (e.g., $3 of a $50 gift). Second, you will not have a cancelled check as proof of your donation, so will have to maintain other documentation for tax purposes.
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