Rehabilitating Baby Animals in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife, including birds, reptiles, and small mammals in Santa Barbara County.

Nature photographer and conservationist Ian Shive got up close and personal with all of the cute baby animals during their rehabilitation.

May 03, 2021

By: Ian Shive

Show: Nature in Focus

Shop This Look

Photo By: Ian Shive

An x-ray shows where an owl's wing was broken in multiple places. The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network will apply a splint and other procedural techniques to help repair the wing.

Smaller than I expected, a western screech owl is fed in the morning as it begins its recovery at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, California.

Once on the endangered species list, this brown Pelican is beginning its recovery and will eventually be released back into the wild. Seabirds are a major part of rehabilitation and recovery efforts at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, California.

A somewhat regular sighting at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, baby opossums have exceptionally strong hands, which help them latch on to their mothers fur as she moves about.

A Northern Raccoon baby is brought into the center, it's eyes barely open. Photographing baby animals can be difficult, as they squirm around quite a bit, so finding a sharp image is challenging.

Dr. Avery Berkowitz performs a procedure on a Barn Owl wing, which needed a splint.

Rats get a bad reputation, but when you see the face of this Wood Rat, you can't help but think how cute this tiny thing is. Even the smallest animals need help sometimes.

Led by Dr. Avery Berkowitz, the team at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network perform a procedure on a bluebird to repair damage to its wing.

At first hard to see, this tiny tube must be carefully inserted into the bluebird's mouth to anesthetize it while its wing is repaired during a procedure.

Surprised to see this at the center, the long tailed weasel is a rare sighting in general in Southern California. Curious, this particular patient came up for a closer look at me, but didn't stay long before running off into a box in the back.