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The Wild Word Newsletter - August 2026
- Windy Daniels
- Aug 3
- 5 min read
Welcome Wildlife Lovers!
This month has brought moments of joy, growth, heartbreak, and hope to Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center.
We are also caring for a common snapping turtle who was rescued from conditions that are almost impossible to comprehend. He was discovered inside an evicted home, trapped in a bathtub filled with filth. Severely emaciated and anemic, he is also suffering from serious bacterial infections and painful pressure sores caused by being left without proper access to water, likely for months.
Thanks to CharMeck Animal Care & Control, he was removed from that horrific situation and brought safely to our team. His recovery will be long and uncertain, but he is no longer alone. We will fight to give him every opportunity to heal and experience the life he should have had all along.
His story is also a painful reminder of why wildlife rehabilitation matters. So many of the animals who arrive at our center are suffering because of direct human impact including vehicle strikes, habitat destruction, kidnapping, cruelty, and neglect. When an animal is left helpless by human actions, we believe we have an obligation to stand up for them.
Amid the difficult cases, we also have something wonderful to celebrate: Alyssa has officially become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with the state of North Carolina! We are incredibly proud of this achievement and the dedication, compassion, and hard work it represents.
From new friendships and professional milestones to challenging rescues and hopeful beginnings, there is so much to share in this month’s edition of The Wild Circle. Thank you for standing beside our patients and our team through every part of this work.
With gratitude,
The Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center Team
Baby Squirrels Galore!
Baby squirrel season is keeping our Wildlife Hotline especially busy! We are receiving so many calls from caring community members who have found young squirrels on the ground or are worried they may be orphaned. In many cases, healthy babies can still be reunited with their mothers, so please contact CWCC before attempting to rescue or relocate one. Visit our Baby Squirrel Reunification Guide for step-by-step instructions on what to do and how to give the mother the best chance to return.
Upcoming Events
Rescue Brew 2026 | August 8th, 2026
Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center will be at Rescue Brew supporting the Humane Society of Charlotte and NoDa Brewing Company for the Rescue Brew Launch Paw-ty on Saturday, August 8, 2026! Stop by our table to meet members of the CWCC team, learn more about the wildlife we care for, and discover simple ways you can help protect injured and orphaned animals in our community.
The family-friendly celebration will feature local vendors, food and drinks, adoptable pets, and the unveiling of this year’s Rescue Brew Top Dog and Queen City Kitty. We would love to see you there!
For more information, please reach out to Windy.
Meet Waylon, A Wildlife Hero
We are fortunate to have so many incredible supporters who use their talents, creativity, and passions to help wildlife...but Waylon is one young donor who immediately inspired us.
Waylon has been supporting Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center since his eighth birthday. Now 10, he proudly calls himself the “Opossum Boy” and has created his own small business, Possum Creations by Waylon, where he offers cards, figures, beads, stickers, and more. He generously donates a portion of every sale to help opossums in need.
Waylon’s dedication is a beautiful reminder that you are never too young—or too old—to follow your passions and make a difference. To us, he is a true wildlife hero.
Please visit Possum Creations by Waylon on Facebook, give his page a follow, and consider supporting his small business. Every follow, share, and purchase helps encourage an inspiring young advocate while supporting the animals he loves.
Meet The Team Behind The Mission
We have received a great deal of interest lately from people wanting to learn more about the team behind Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center. While our staff members play an important role in the care we provide (and we will talk about them in later issues), so much of our work would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers who give their time, knowledge, and compassion to help wildlife in need.
We would like to begin by recognizing our incredible Wildlife Hotline volunteers, a dedicated team of 15 people who care. They are often the very first point of contact for someone who has found an injured, orphaned, or displaced wild animal. Every day, they answer calls and messages, carefully assess each situation, and provide the most appropriate guidance for both the animal and the finder.
Our hotline volunteers receive specialized training that allows them to identify when an animal truly needs help, explain safe containment and transportation procedures, offer reunification guidance, and help prevent healthy wildlife from being unnecessarily removed from the wild. They bring patience and reassurance to what can often be an emotional or stressful situation.
They are the first line of our work, and their dedication helps ensure that every animal has the best possible chance before it even arrives at our center. We are deeply grateful for the knowledge, kindness, and countless hours they contribute to our mission. We would not be able to do a fraction of the work that we do without them.
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Click the link to find out how! https://www.carolinaconservation.org/volunteer
Success Of The Month: A Tiny Visionary
This resilient opossum came to us after an animal attack left her with a facial wound, serious damage to her right eye, and trauma to her mouth. At first, her eye was so badly swollen that surgical removal appeared necessary. However, she was too weak for surgery, so our team focused on stabilizing her and carefully protecting the eye while she healed.
Against the odds, the swelling gradually receded. She can now fully blink and lubricate the eye on her own, meaning surgery was no longer needed. Despite a slight overbite from her injuries, she is eating well and can even crunch through bones, an important milestone for an opossum preparing for life in the wild. Her recovery is a wonderful reminder of just how much healing is possible with time, skilled care, and a little determination.
Help Us Fight for His Recovery
Beyond the severe neglect he endured, this snapping turtle arrived with numerous holes throughout his shell that our team believes may have been intentionally drilled. These injuries have left him vulnerable to painful, potentially life-threatening infections and will require extensive medical treatment, specialized wound care, medications, proper nutrition, and months of close monitoring.
His recovery will not be quick or easy, but he has already survived more than any animal ever should.
Now, he deserves the opportunity to experience safety, clean water, nourishing food, and compassionate care.
Your donation will help provide the intensive treatment he needs while also supporting the many other victims of injury, neglect, and human impact arriving at our center. Please consider making a gift in his honor and helping us show this resilient turtle that human hands can also bring healing.
More than anything, we want this to feel like a conversation. You are such an important part of CWCC, and we would truly love to hear from you. Have a question about wildlife rehabilitation? Want to know more about a patient, a species, or what happens behind the scenes? Have an idea for something you’d love to see in a future newsletter? Take our quick newsletter feedback form and tell us what you would like to see next.
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