Observation and Diagnostic Tools When a good Samaritan brings in a Great horned owl that cannot fly or a lethargic Eastern box turtle with no apparent physical injuries to the Wildlife Medical Clinic, how do we determine what is going on with these patients? That’s where the problem-solving aspect of our work comes into play. […]
Arrival and Initial Concerns On August 31, 2025, the Wildlife Medical Clinic received an adult Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) that had been found grounded and unable to fly. Upon intake, the owl was in thin body condition and demonstrated ocular abnormalities–most notably, aqueous flare in both eyes. This clinical sign indicates there is inflammation […]
Intake At the beginning of October, the Wildlife Medical Clinic welcomed a Painted Turtle brought in by a licensed wildlife rehabilitator from Illinois. Sadly, this patient had been the victim of a common — and often underestimated — threat to our native turtle populations: vehicle collision. Many people are surprised to learn that when a […]
As spooky season approaches, we want to talk about a few animals that get a bad rap for being scarier than they truly are. Owls Owls are often associated with death and bad luck and were once thought to be messengers of witches. One owl in particular, the barn owl, takes the brunt of some […]
Sydney Oliveira, WMC Program Coordinator, brought Onslo (Blue Tongued Skink), a Wildlife Medical Clinic animal ambassador along on her visit to CiLiving. He is one of eleven ambassador animals that individuals may have the pleasure of meeting and learning about at the upcoming Vet Med Open House. The open house will take place Sunday, October […]
Join Kayla Buck, WMC Summer Ambassador Intern, and Emily Blum, WMC Summer Clinic Intern as they play some Wildlife Trivia on our most recent visit to CiLiving.
White-tailed Deer In addition to being named the state mammal, the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the only native deer species present within Illinois and is the largest herbivore species in the state. As prey species, these animals commonly travel in herds and spend most of their day camouflaging within wooded areas and heavy brush. […]
Intake and Treatment Plan Earlier this year the Wildlife Medical Clinic received an Eastern Screech Owl, from one of our close partners the Illinois Raptor Center. Unfortunately, this little fella’ had an issue unlike most of our raptor patients. While you may be thinking, “Wow, I’m sure that owl would look super cute with an […]
As cool weather starts to approach, people may soon find wild animals trying to move into their home and their yard. While some people have very environmentally friendly yards that encourage wildlife to visit, some do not and that is ok. Thankfully there are many ways to humanely and effectively prevent unwanted wild visitors. Discouraging […]
Sydney Oliveira, WMC Program Coordinator went on CiLiving with our American Toad ambassador, “Basil”. Follow along to learn about Basil and American Toads.