A new wildlife care center for the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA has opened in the hills above Saratoga. Ian Cull reports.
A new wildlife care center for the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA has opened in the hills above Saratoga.
The state-of-the-art facility is set on 197 acres and will take in and treat wild animals that are in found sick, hurt or orphaned in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
"We can now expand all that we do," said Nicole Weger, wildlife director of operations for the Peninsula Humane Society. "We can take care of more animals. We can get more animals back out into the wild, and we can do that in a place that is wild (and) is natural."
Outside the facility features enclosures specific to each kind of bird, with wiring to keep them in and other wildlife out.
The center also has an imperiled animal section, where they are working to save and even grow some threatened or endangered species like the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander.
"We are breeding endangered or imperiled animals for re-release into the wild to help boost population sizes," said Dr. Regina Spranger, a senior lead biologist with the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.
The new building also features a technology update.
"Not only do we have the space, but we have the facilities to program each room to be similar temperatures to the environment the animals would normally face," Spranger said.
Employees said anyone who finds a wild animal in need to call their local animal control, who will likely bring the animal to the new facility.
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For more information, visit the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA's website.
