Florida Wildlife Hospital & Sanctuary, Inc., was originally established by Carlton & Gladys Teate in 1974. It went through several difficult years after the Teates retired, and in 1997 the facility reopened with new management. In August of 1998, we moved to our current location - a donated 3.5 acre site. Since then, we have been busy converting the existing house to a hospital, adding a pond to the property, and building outdoor caging and storage. One of our goals is to have cages suitable for all species of native Florida wildlife. In just three years at this location, we have constructed 14 cages. New additions this year are our fawn pen, a 40 by 40 foot enclosure with a small barn, and the conversion of an existing cage to house otters. Future plans include a 100-foot flight cage and a large-mammal cage.

The facility treats sick, injured, and orphaned native Florida wildlife and migratory birds with the goal of returning them to the wild. The wildlife care is overseen by three state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitators - Sue Small, Eileen Olejarski, and Hyta Mederer. Our part-time staff of two to four people, which varies seasonally, consists of a veterinary technician, a biologist, a student intern, and a student majoring in Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. Our volunteer work force handles a major portion of the work that is done here. We average 500 volunteer hours donated per month.

The pond supplies exercise and recovery for pelicans, cormorants and others.

We started with nothing in 1997, and have built up an organization that has the support of over 1400 members. We have admitted over 12,500 wildlife patients, including 3,198 in 2000. The volume of patients we have handled in this short time has created many challenges. One of the choices we made in the beginning was to function strictly as a hospital. We do provide educational programs to the public, but since our facility is not open for tours, we do not maintain a large collection of non-releasable wildlife.

We were fortunate in the beginning to learn about the Florida Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, and have established contacts and made friends with rehabilitators throughout the state. Their assistance and advice, as well as the classes at the yearly symposiums, have taught us a lot about wildlife rehabilitation and also about the importance of networking. We are grateful for the help we have received, and willing to help others in any way we can. We look forward to taking an active part in the Florida Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, and in the future of wildlife rehabilitation in Florida.