Save the Date!
Wildlife Walk 2025
Sunday, September 28th 11am-3pm
The Seminary Retreat & Conference Center
440 West Neck Road
Lloyd Harbor, NY 11743
Please join us for a fun-filled day to benefit Wildlife Center of Long Island!
Meet our Animal Ambassadors & learn about Long Island’s wildlife! Open to all ages – pizza, drinks, & ice cream served.
Adults: $25
Kids: $10
Kids under 3- FREE
Patient Spotlight
Box Turtle Recovers from Weedwhacker Encounter
On June 9th, we received a call from a member of the public in Huntington who had found an Eastern Box Turtle after he was accidentally struck with a weedwhacker by her landscapers. Fortunately, we were in the right place at the right time and had a rehabilitator minutes away. We responded quickly to rescue the turtle and bring him to our center for care.
On examination, we found the Box Turtle to be suffering from a wound to the carapace, the upper half of the turtle’s shell. While the wound was relatively minor, the turtle was suffering from the complete loss of its tail due to the weedwhacker strike. The turtle’s shell and tail wounds were thoroughly cleaned by our rehabilitators and assessed by our veterinarians. Fortunately, although the turtle’s tail was severely compromised, the turtle’s cloaca (the opening to the turtle’s digestive, reproductive and urinary tracts) was not impacted. For the past three weeks the turtle has been recovering slowly under the care of our rehabilitators. The turtle received a course of injectable antibiotics to treat infection and topical treatments to help the injury heal. Fortunately for this turtle, he will likely be able to make his return to the wild later this summer once his wounds are fully healed!
Eastern Box Turtles are listed as a “Species of Special Concern” in New York State. While their populations are not quite low enough to yet be considered threatened or endangered, Box Turtle populations are being monitored closely as they are currently in decline. Here on Long Island, where people continue to encroach on open spaces, their main threats include vehicle strikes, landscaping injuries, pesticides and bite injuries from dogs.
To help Box Turtles in your area:
- Maintain as much natural habitat as possible with native plants, pesticide free yards and plenty of hiding places.
- Check yards thoroughly before mowing and weedwhacking. Box Turtles move slowly and often hide in their shells when scared. This can make them difficult to spot from above.
- Supervise dogs when outdoors to make sure no interactions happen with wildlife.
- Obey speed limits and keep your eyes on the road.
Our Box Turtle patient enjoys a shallow soak. While Box Turtles spend most of their lives on land, they do enjoy shallow puddles and streams. Soaking is an important part of maintaining their hydration and in hot weather helps to keep them cool.
Meet John!
If you have called our hotline recently, you may have had the pleasure of speaking with John. John joined our team at Wildlife Center of Long Island this Spring to help us field the large volume of calls coming into our Center each day. John brings to us a variety of experiences including several years working as Park Ranger in Colorado as well as in the State Park system here on Long Island. John has a very calm and comforting presence on the phone helping to assist our callers through a variety of situations about injured wildlife and human wildlife conflict.
Cast your Target Circle Votes!
We’ve been selected as a beneficiary for Target’s charitable giving program! Target customers can vote for our organization to receive donations from Target. The more often you shop at Target, the more votes you’ll be able to cast. Voting ends June 30th so please be sure to get those votes in!
To vote for our organization, download the Target App on your phone & follow the instructions below:
