In Memory: Pickles the Opossum

We are heartbroken to announce that Pickles, our younger female opossum, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, March 21st. In the wild, opossums only live about one year. While this is often the result of predators, they are also prone to health conditions that limit their lifespan.

Pickles came to PWC in August 2022 from Our Wild Neighbors. She immediately won over our staff and volunteers with her calm, gentle, and curious temperament. Even though she had a permanent injury to her paw, she was very active and enjoyed using her exercise wheel, taking walks outside in her harness, and climbing our staff to sit on their shoulders. (She was definitely a "shoulder opossum," and was known to grab staff members' shirts to "ask for" a ride!)

Pickles was also a wonderful ambassador for her species. Kids and adults who might have otherwise thought opossums are "dirty" or "scary" were charmed by her sweet demeanor and willingness to be pet. We're sure anyone who met Pickles walked away with a new appreciation for our misunderstood marsupial neighbors.

Even though she wasn't with us for very long, Pickles made a lasting impact on PWC, countless local elementary students, and our staff. We would love to hear your Pickles stories and see your photos of our sweet girl. If you would like to share, please e-mail conservation@piedmontwildlifecenter.org.

If you feel moved to make a donation in Pickles' memory to offset the cost of her veterinary care, please visit https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate or click the button below.

Meet Garnet the corn snake!

Give a warm Piedmont welcome to our newest Ambassador Animal, Garnet the corn snake!

Garnet came to us in December from BeWild Reptile Rescue in Durham. He was surrendered to BeWild along with two other snakes, all of whom had stunted growth from poor care. He's estimated to be 2-3 years old but is much smaller than he should be at his age.

Captive-bred corn snakes are often considered good "beginner" snakes for new pet owners. But as Garnet's story shows, even "easy" pets require a LOT of specialized care to remain happy and healthy. Always do your research before welcoming a new animal into your family!

See Garnet in action on our latest YouTube Short… then show your support for our new friend by sponsoring him through our Adopt-an-Ambassador program!

New year, new Adopt-an-Ambassador experience!

Our Conservation Team has been hard at work putting together brand-new sponsorship levels for any budget, with new perks to match. Plus, for the first time ever, you can now sponsor ANY of our 26 Ambassador Animals, including fan favorites like Edgar the raven!

All Adopt-an-Ambassador sponsorships directly support the non-releasable animals in our care and make it possible for us to educate thousands of people each year about native wildlife.

Learn more about these updates by watching the video above or on YouTube. Then hit the link below to support wildlife education by sponsoring your favorite PWC Ambassador Animal!

Did you catch us on My Carolina CBS 17?

“Whooo” were those familiar faces on My Carolina on January 18th? Why, only Piedmont Wildlife Center’s very own Apollo and Shelly - with their human friends Executive Director Karen McCall and Director of Conservation Noelle Rizzieri!

Huge thanks to the team at CBS 17 for inviting us to talk nature connection, native wildlife, and PWC’s 20th anniversary. We can’t wait to come back with more of our Ambassador Animals!

Watch our My Carolina debut in the video above, on Facebook, or on our YouTube channel. You can hear Karen talk about PWC’s mission of nature connection starting at 0:30. Noelle joins Amber and Carly to share fun facts about our Ambassador Animals at 5:05.

Meet Arlo and Maple!

On GivingTuesday, we introduced our THREE new raptor Ambassadors: Tony the great-horned owl, a red morph eastern screech owl, and a juvenile red-shouldered hawk. Now, thanks to the 102 donors who helped us meet - and exceed! - our GivingTuesday goal of $3,333, Tony’s two friends finally have their names. Introducing Arlo the screech owl and Maple the red-shouldered hawk!

Arlo the Eastern Screech Owl

Meet Arlo, our new eastern screech owl! Eastern screech owls come in two colors, called morphs: red and gray. Arlo is a red morph, just like our other screech owl Otus.

Arlo was rescued in VA by Nature's Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation after colliding with the side of a van. His accident left him with head trauma and a permanent left eye injury, making him unable to properly hunt in the wild. If you look closely at his left eye, you can see where his pupil was damaged in his accident. He arrived at PWC in October 2022.

Maple the red-shouldered hawk

Maple is a juvenile red-shouldered hawk! He was found on the ground after having fallen from the nest. Someone noticed that he remained on the ground for days and became concerned since he was not yet old enough to fledge.

He was rescued by Nature's Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation in VA who discovered that he had eye damage possibly caused by his fall. Because of his injuries, his vision is impaired and he is unable to hunt well enough to survive in the wild. He arrived at PWC in October 2022.

We know Maple is a juvenile because of the coloring and patterns on his feathers. When he gets older, he will look more like Willow, our adult red-shouldered hawk. We can’t wait to see him grow up!