Coastal Ridge Elementary School (CRES) 4th-graders visited the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick the week before Spring Break to learn about local wildlife. Being a beautiful, seasonably warm day, the students, teachers, and several parent volunteers gathered at their outdoor theater to meet a few of the animal ambassadors that live at the center. CRES visitors learned that several of the local animals that come to the center for care become residents if they learn to no longer fear humans. Becoming too comfortable with humans could impact an animal’s chances of survival if introduced back into the wild.
The Center for Wildlife is a private, non-profit wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education education. Every year, they treat about 2,000 injured and orphaned animals from a 100-mile radius of York. Their current residents include wild birds (including fascinating birds of prey), wild reptiles such as turtles and snakes, and small mammals, including bats, chipmunks, moles, voles, opossums, porcupines, rabbits, and squirrels. To find out if a particular wild animal you encounter would be accepted to the center for care, call the Center at 361-1400.
You can also check their calendar of events at thecenterforwildlife.org/events. Like the CRES groups that visited the Center, you may be able to meet animal ambassadors, peek into cages that house residents, and play with others in the nature center.