Interview: Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center TWRC
By: Kaitlin Silva
The Kid’s Directory Family Resource Guide – Houston
July 2024 on www.kids-houston.com
Images provided by Katherine Menzer
Interview: Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center TWRC
A Brief Introduction…
The Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center is an integral organization to the preservation of Texas’ many diverse wildlife populations. Employees and volunteers alike dedicate an incredible amount of time, resources, and effort to the care and rehabilitation of wild animals orphaned, injured, or sick— all the while educating and enlisting Texans on how to do their part. Samantha Norris, their Wildlife Education Program Manager, answers some of our most burning questions in regards to their work, history, rescue, environmental conservation, wildlife workshops, volunteering, dos & don’ts of rescue, their animal ambassadors & amazing personal experiences below!
The Interview
Q: We would like to learn more about the history of the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center. By who and when were you founded?
TWRC Wildlife Center was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1979 as the result of the Ixtoc Oil Spill in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico. The coalition volunteers performed wildlife clean-up and coordinated the placement of wildlife with appropriately skilled and permitted rehabilitators, who cared for the wildlife until released back into their native habitat.
Q: How did the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center change and expand over the recent years?
1979 – 1992 – The Beginning
The coalition was a loose connection of volunteer, local permitted rehabilitators working out of their homes. The rehabilitators took turns answering calls that were forwarded to their homes. They shared information and ideas with each other. Rehabilitators were responsible for finding and paying for veterinary care for their patients as well as for procuring all supplies.
1992 – Renovated Trailer
Rehabilitators became uneasy about their addresses being given out to the public for patient drop offs. The coalition rented a trailer in the parking lot of the Town & Country Mall, where they operated a Wildlife Emergency Shelter and Educational Facility. This established TWRC as Houston’s first wildlife rehabilitation organization operating an emergency room to which the public could bring ill, injured, and orphaned wildlife. All participants were still volunteers.
1994 – Town & Country Mall
Rapidly growing, TWRC moved their emergency care facility inside Town & Country Mall and a shelter manager was hired. TWRC was the first wildlife shelter in Texas to be an accredited member of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. TWRC is licensed and regulated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA).
1998 – 2008 – Memorial Drive
More room was again needed. TWRC leased a former convenience store on Wycliff at Memorial Drive in Houston for 10 years. In addition, except for radiography capability, TWRC had a full triage veterinary room. Upon admission, each patient received a physical exam and was stabilized prior to placement with a home-based permitted wildlife rehabilitator. By the end of 2008, six staff members were on the payroll, outreach programs were implemented, and programs were provided for scout groups.
2008 – 2019 – Hammerly Boulevard
Expanding once more, TWRC leased two suites at 10801 Hammerly Boulevard. One suite was the “TWRC Wildlife Center”, and the other suite was the “TWRC Wildlife Education Center.” The veterinary room was expanded to include radiography. In 2012, Roslyn Even was hired as Executive Director. This was the only full-time staff position. In house rehabilitation of baby opossums, birds, and squirrels began during this period. The education suite changed to a rehabilitation suite to accommodate the change.
2019 -2021 – Hammerly Expansion
Mary Warwick was hired as Executive Director in 2019. While the pandemic took its toll on donations and grant awards, the center was able to triple the size of the vet room to create the Roslyn Even Wildlife Hospital. Three grants purchased lab, exam, surgery, and dental radiology equipment. Nine part-time staff members were on payroll. Dr. Cheryl Hoggard joined TWRC as volunteer staff veterinarian. The center became the only bat rehabilitator in the Greater Houston Area. Education programs began evolving into environmental education programs. Talks with the Houston Humane Society about the potential for a merger began.
2022 – 2023 – Houston Humane Society Merge
TWRC became a department of the Houston Humane Society (HHS) on September 1, 2022. The name changed to the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center.
- Administration:
- There are currently 29 full-time and 16 part-time staff members, including Dr. Hoggard as a full-time veterinarian. We have up to five paid interns, three semesters per year.
- Admissions:
- Hours of operation increased from 10AM to 2PM daily to 9 AM to 3PM Monday – Friday.
- Began volunteer animal transporter program “Wild Riders”
- Began volunteer animal capture and transport program “Wild Wranglers”
- Volunteers and Interns:
- Began recruiting more from local Texas Master Naturalist Chapters
- Hospital:
- Added a critical care room
- Updated manuals and restructured hospital
- Rehabilitation:
- More wildlife have been admitted as of July 11, 2024, than in all of 2023. Three more months still remain in our typical busy season. In the year 2023, we admitted 3112 patients. Since January 1, 2024, we have admitted 5,019 patients.
- The rehabilitation room was reorganized to increase efficiency and caseload
- Outdoor pre-release caging built:
- Nine outdoor pre-release conditioning cages (8’ x 8’ x 8’ and 8’ x 12’ x 8’)
- Turtle enclosure with tubs and drains (8’ x 16’ x 8)
- Education:
- Planning was completed, and implementation began on a $67,000 grant program from TPWD to provide an in-depth environmental education program to a Title-1 school in Alief ISD for the 2023-2024 school year.
- A new 10,000-square-foot location was purchased at 3100 West Fuqua
- Renovations began on the outside of the building
- Renovation begins on the interior this month
Q: What is the most common animal you see coming in?
Virginia opossums have been our #1 patient in recent years. In 2023, we admitted over 1,000 opossums, followed by over 400 eastern gray squirrels, nearly 150 blue jays, and 120 white-winged doves.
Q: What are some misconceptions regarding wild animals that you’d like to correct?
Nocturnal animals seen during the daytime are not always ill or injured. It’s not uncommon to see an opossum, skunk, or raccoon during the daytime! Sometimes these guys want a “midnight” snack in the middle of the day! Additionally, the misconception that Virginia Opossums are big carriers of the rabies virus, while it’s not impossible for them to contract rabies, it’s extremely unlikely, as their body temperature is normally too low to harbor the virus.
Q: What is the rarest or strangest animal Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center has ever rehabilitated?
This year, our hospital team successfully rehabilitated and released a green tree frog. Found stuck to the road, the tree frog was missing skin on the bottoms of its legs and abdomen and required several weeks of rehabilitation. Amphibians are pretty uncommon for our center. Not unheard of, but definitely uncommon! They are also extremely sensitive to food and water, so caring for them can be tricky. We’re excited to add this experience to our repertoire!
Q: What is the biggest mistake people make in trying to handle/help wild animals?
- Automatically deeming every baby found as an “orphan.” Majority of the time, it’s possible to attempt to reunite birds, squirrels, and bunnies with their parents with a little bit of extra footwork from rescuers. Sometimes, the babies don’t need any intervention at all! In the case of birds fledging the nest, they’re just learning how to navigate the world around them, even if they’re not the most graceful or coordinated, mom and dad still look after them.
- Relocating trapped wildlife! Trapping and relocating to an area far from where the animal was originally found can prove fatal to the relocated animal, and may damage the ecosystem where it was relocated to. Most wild animals have smaller home ranges and are aware of where good food and water sources are. Instead of relocation, we recommend using humane deterrent methods for nuisance animals.
- Refusing to reunite healthy baby birds/squirrels/bunnies because of outdoor cats in the neighborhood. While we completely understand the feeling of wanting to guarantee a safe upbringing for the babies by bringing them into a center, it’s not always the best option for the babies. A rehabilitation center can’t teach all of the skills that parents would be able to teach, even though we try our best to! Additionally, when people can reunite healthy babies, it saves critical resources for little ones who are truly orphaned or injured.
Q: Do you have any special or especially impactful stories about animals you’ve helped rehabilitate?
During a storm a few weeks ago, a birdhouse was blown over and broke, scattering all the baby Purple Martins around the yard. A rescuer gathered them up and brought them to a shelter, and they were then transferred to us.
Our center was worried we might have to find foster homes through the Purple Martin Conservation Association, but thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.
Our Wildlife Deputy Director Kelsey and Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Hoggard went out to get the baby Martins back into a new house and watched for the parents. The parents came by right away because their babies were calling, and they quickly adapted to the new house we helped install!
Q: You do amazing work with our Texas bats! Being only in your second year of rehabilitation, what are some things you learned about bats from personal experience?
Bats are INCREDIBLY social animals! Just like humans, they communicate with one another and seem to know each other like friends and family. During the large bat rescues we’ve completed, we witnessed this communication first-hand. After each bat was warmed up and examined, they would be added to a specific crate depending on the bridge or colony they were rescued from. As soon as a new bat would enter the crate, the others would begin to eagerly chitter and chatter as if they were welcoming a good friend to the party. Sweet interactions like these helped push our bat rescue team through the event.
Q: Are you involved with any other agencies in the rehabilitation and/or the release of the bats?
We work very closely with the kind staff at Austin Bat Rescue in Austin, TX. They have been instrumental in our team’s growth and success around bat rehabilitation.
Q: There is information and stories about your current ambassadors on your website, but do you have any funny or special stories you would like to share?
- Our wood duck, Woody, really believes he is a tiny human who waddles and quacks! On occasion, we add decoy ducks and rubber ducks into his pond as part of his enrichment program. Until recently, he was not brave enough to share his pond with these imposters. He doesn’t realize he would be among plastic versions of his own kind!
- It is definitely possible to teach old birds new tricks! This past year we have started training with our 15-year-old eastern screech owl, Iris, who has been with our organization since she was brought in as a patient. In a short amount of time, Iris has learned how to hop between branches and weigh herself on command, and even takes walks with her trainers outside with no harnesses or other equipment! We are so happy to see Iris’ confidence and trust blossom with her increasing age.
- While opossums in the wild are quite clean animals, our ambassador Blossom is a special case. If you have ever visited our Wildlife Center, you might have noticed the giant wheel in our opossum’s enclosure. Originally made for cats, this wheel is actually the perfect size for an adult opossum, and Miss Blossom adores it! If she’s not eating or sleeping, she’s likely to be running on her wheel, imagining herself traveling to distant lands. As a wild animal, Blossom has a habit of relieving herself wherever she finds herself in the moment, which often means her wheel suffers the consequences. She has been known to continue running even after going about her business! Her wheel may feel differently, but we’re extremely glad Blossom enjoys working out so much! At three years old, Blossom is in great physical shape for a senior opossum
Q: Tell us more about your mission to promote environmental conservation.
At Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center, our mission is to promote environmental conservation through public education and rehabilitation of Texas wildlife.
Commitment
The Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center provides a community for people who are dedicated to Texas wildlife. We value and care about each other and work to inspire, challenge, and support our fellow wildlife caregivers. We aspire to a level of professionalism in everything we do.
Compassion
We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all living things. We value the life of every animal that enters our care and vow to treat each animal humanely and with respect and compassion. Although our goal is to release all animals back to the wild, we hold ourselves accountable to do what is best for each individual animal.
Leadership
The staff and volunteers of Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center strive to develop future leaders in the wildlife field. Through our work with the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and local colleges, we actively seek out and then train tomorrow’s wildlife workers. By sharing our enthusiasm for conserving Texas wildlife, we establish bold visions and purposefulness in the next generation.
Stewardship
Through our outreach programs and educational partnerships, we aim to help the public understand the importance of conservation and gain an appreciation of Texas wildlife. We are committed to educating the public to encourage people to coexist with the wild animals who share our cities.
Get Involved; Volunteering, Wildlife Workshops, & Donations
Volunteering with the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center is as simple as contacting the Center, attending orientation, going through training, and then choosing how you’d like to help! They are always looking for volunteers, and are happy to receive help however they can in preserving Texas’ great wildlife.
In regards to education, the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center hosts a multitude of workshops for all ages, usually involving a meeting with one of their animal ambassadors! Workshop topics involve lessons about the care and promotion of backyard songbirds, to education on Houston’s surprisingly wild urban dwellers, like raccoons, coyotes, and skunks!
If you’d like to support the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center from home, they take monetary donations, offer sponsorships, and even maintain a wish list of household items that help in the process of animal rehabilitation! Things like cat food, paper towels, and gloves are always needed. They also have a store, providing unique t-shirts and hoodies that broadcast your support.
Conclusion
Be it for education, volunteering, or donating, the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center is eager to connect with Texans any way they can. Stay wild, Texas!
Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center Helpful Links
Visit their website – Save Wildlife with Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Found an Animal? | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Meet their ambassador animals – Adopt an Animal Ambassador | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Learn about volunteering here – Become a Volunteer | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Donation Pages –
Ways to Donate | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Tribute Giving | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Online Donation to Wildlife General Fund | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Wish List | Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center
Visit Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center on Facebook
Images provided by Katherine Menzer and Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center are subject to copyright laws.
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