Important Bulletin: Hurricane Florence Rescue Effort Update!

Post author By admin
Post date April 26, 2020

On Sunday, September 23, Ted made a second trip to Wilmington to rescue 25 more baby squirrels, bringing the total to 80 squirrels that have come through the doors since the storm ravaged the eastern part of North Carolina. After a 12-hour trip, he brought the babies back to NAWC. Some of the new arrivals were newborns, complete with umbilical cord still attached. NAWC has also been fortunate to receive some donations of food and drinks for our volunteers from Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Greensboro, The Filling Station restaurant in Winston-Salem, and Bojangles in Eden, NC. These donations are much appreciated! Donations of all kinds are still needed, and we are trying to raise $5,000 for the continued expenses for care for the babies, while they are here for several weeks, months, and over the winter.

After Hurricane Florence ripped through our state, Noah’s Ark Wildlife Center received a call from some rehabbers on the East Coast. Their homes and centers under water and without power, they were desperately trying to save the wildlife being brought to them that were impacted from this epic storm. Ted and Velvet immediately starting making calls and plans to act as soon as they were able. Little lives were on the line! Less than 24 hours later Ted was packing our van with bins, supplies, and lots of gas cans to be sure we could get in to Wilmington to get them out.

A board member’s home in Cary was used as a staging area for donations gathered for the potentially treacherous journey ahead. A generous donation of supplies including formula, blankets, and food was made by Wildlife Welfare in Raleigh, NC. After loading up, Ted set out to find a safe route into the flooded area. Once arriving in Wilmington, Ted loaded a total of 55 squirrels into warm, dry bins full of food and headed back to NAWC in Stokes County. He took another stop in Cary on the way back to triage and feed the new arrivals. Thanks to volunteers Bill and Cynthia for the late night bottle feeding help during this important stop over. The squirrels finally arrived here at NAWC at 12:45am Thursday morning after the 18 hour journey. Velvet and Jessica were waiting at the center for the arrival and setup. After a few more hours, all of our new babies were calling NAWC home. More squirrels are already arriving in Wilmington and plans are being made to assist with those as well.