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Winter season brings ongoing work for National Wildlife Centre

January 15, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As the wintery season falls upon us, many people begin to hunker down indoors, and some animals take to hibernation.

But the National Wildlife Centre is as busy as ever.

The field centre, located in Caledon, opened its doors at the end of April and has since helped over 1,200 animals.

Founder and wildlife veterinarian Dr. Sherri Cox says that when they opened, it was much busier than they had anticipated.

“We were getting over a hundred phone calls a day, and that’s even with people not knowing we were here yet,” says Cox, reflecting on their opening months. “It’s been incredibly busy; we were here from say seven in the morning till midnight sometimes in the busy season.”

Currently in their care, they have over 70 in-house, and during the summer, they would reach double that, at 140.

Even though it seems to have slowed down to the outside eye, the centre is bustling every day, with animals needing X-rays, surgery, rehabilitation, and some even have an extended stay.

Cox shares that some animals were born later into the baby season, resulting in the centre taking them in for the winter.

Over the winter, the animals will either be in the centre’s care indoors, or in their outdoor enclosures. 

What is currently adorning both these indoor and outdoor enclosures are Christmas trees, right from the Caledon community.

As the holiday season wound down, the Centre invited Caledon residents to donate their tinsel-free and spray-free Christmas trees.

“We try to keep everything natural from food, husbandry and habitat. These Christmas trees provide the normal smells that they would smell in there. They provide shelter and hiding, and we actually have them around our squirrel enclosures as barriers to the wind,” says Cox. “It just brings that more natural feel.”

Sometimes they’ll use the whole tree in an enclosure, and other times they’ll just use part of their branches.

One of their current guests has been truly appreciative of the community’s donation.

“We have a porcupine and they like to eat bark, or they hide under it. They feel safer and that will lower their stress,” says Cox. “It’s all about the animal’s well-being, and we’re trying to restore health to get them back into the wild.”

Not only has the community been dropping off their trees, but thanks to a partnership with Dunk Disposal, the group will be collecting post-season Christmas trees and delivering them to the Centre in Caledon by the end of January.

In the centre’s care, not only are they looking after a porcupine, but they also have baby opossums, flying squirrels, eastern grey squirrels, and more.

Cox adds that some of the animals they currently receive are injured, many she says either struck by cars, or have flown into windows.

They are currently treating a bald eagle, a snowy owl, and a hawk.

Cox says that before opening their doors at the end of April, they operated as a mobile hospital and helped wildlife rehabilitators with their patients. 

“But we couldn’t help the community,” she adds. “Now we serve both.”

The centre has a hotline for the community to call when they find an injured animal.

“It’s been amazing because we can help animals, and we can help the community,” says Cox.

She adds that not all the calls they’re receiving are related to an injured animal.

“A lot of phone calls and a lot of what we do is education,” she explained, noting they receive numerous calls regarding animals living in people’s sheds or attics. “A lot of it is how do we cohabitate with wildlife because as we do more development then animals are displaced and they’re looking they don’t have anywhere to go, we’re trying to educate people.”

Cox says that they find more animals being displaced and hit by cars.

“It’s unfortunate that so many animals are hit by cars, whether it’s a bear or a hawk or a coyote or a rabbit. We see everything here from moose to mice, and turtles to trumpeter swans.”

Some of what they see are a little larger than the animal they currently have in their care.

The National Wildlife Field Centre has recently been able to help rehabilitate and care for bears that the organization Bear with Us receives.

Bear with Us is an organization that works to rescue, rehabilitate, and release orphaned or injured bears that come into their care.

“Not everyone is sleeping right now because some need medical care. So we’re overseeing that. They [Bear with Us] might bring down a bear that’s been hit by a car or a bear that’s sick and we’ll do x-rays or what we need to do to help it, and then it goes back to Bear With Us” says Cox.

Between October and December, Cox says they assisted with four bears in Bear with Us’ care.

As the centre is licensed as a mobile wildlife hospital, they can often go to the organization to assist as needed.

“We go to rehab centers that need our help where they can’t bring an animal in,” explains Cox, noting a moose they were able to go and attend. 

At the centre are numerous staff and volunteers, whose jobs range from animal care and washing and laundry to medications and food, nutrition preparation, and dishes.

On one of the centre’s walls is a large board, where staff can find information and updates on every single animal in their care.

Once they do their rounds, they’re able to note how each animal is doing, for example, if their condition has changed, if they’re gaining weight, eating, and more.

“It’s just making sure no patient gets lost, and that we’re on top of the health and care of every single animal,” says Cox. 

As they look towards the future, Cox says they are excited about the next step in their adventure: building the Centre of Excellence for Wildlife Rehabilitation, Medicine and Surgery.

She says their current field hospital is a step towards a bigger plan, where they aim to help connect people and wildlife.

They hope that, with the future centre, they will be able to further tie in the educational aspect, with features such as interactive displays, school group engagement, webcams in the animal enclosures and surgery rooms, and more.

Cox says they look forward to bringing people into that type of space.

With the centre, they will also be able to conduct more training. The centre is currently training biologists, vet students, veterinarians, but Cox adds that with the new centre, they will be able to train even more.

One of the biggest aspects of it all is that with the future centre they will be able to treat about 5,000 animals a year.

This estimated ten-year project will begin once the centre has raised sufficient funds for the future build. 

“I’m really proud of the work everybody has done here. The community, the volunteers, everyone has pulled together so that we can help these 1,200 animals so far this year since we’ve opened,” says Cox.

Cox says not only is she extremely thankful to her team, but to the community and all of their donors. 

“It takes a village. A lot of individual people helping out is really helping a lot of animals, so thank you.”

“If the public is able to get involved and help us, they can help wildlife.”

Cox shares that the organization is not only looking to raise funds for its future centre, but also for an outdoor enclosure to better suit the needs of its larger flying animals, such as eagles, raptors, and owls, who need the space to fly and rebuild strength.

The centre is also always in need of smaller items, such as food, towels, and garbage bags, and they currently have an Amazon wish list.

As the season loops around once again, the centre will also be holding a “baby shower” for everything they will need for the babies in their care. And as always, the centre welcomes anyone who wishes to volunteer.

To the public, Cox invites them to call if they ever have questions, or find an injured animal.

And most of all, be wary of those with whom we share this space.

“Enjoy wildlife. We’re very fortunate to live in an area that is so abundant with wildlife. Just be aware, slow down, to protect wildlife.”

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