In pursuit of our mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release orphaned and injured wildlife, our primary concern is the well being of those in our care. Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is committed to effective, scientifically-informed, and compassionate wild animal care practices, training, and educational outreach that promote the health and safety of our region’s wildlife, thereby helping to create and maintain thriving natural environments.
Your support makes our mission possible! Please help us continue our work.
Rescue
There are lots of reasons that baby birds and animals arrive at LTWC. Many have been orphaned or separated from their parents due to wildfires, car accidents, predation from pets and other consequences of human activity.
Most of the baby animals LTWC cares for require a special diet or care. Our facility is equipped to ensure each orphan in our care receives the correct food (i.e., food that is as close as possible to the diet their mothers would have fed), and the right environment so that they can be released as healthy adults able to fend for themselves.
If you have found a baby bird or animal, please do not try to care for it yourself. Follow our guidelines and call us at 530-577-2273 (CARE). For tips on how to live with wildlife, click here.
Rehabilitate
Our dedicated team of rehabilitation staff and volunteers have decades of experience in treating a wide range of wildlife injuries onsite, including concussions, wounds and infections, broken bones and torn wings.
LTWC has also become a leader in treating animals burned in wildfires.
Release
Every animal LTWC receives is treated with the intention of releasing it back to the wild. Since opening in 1978, we have successfully cared for and released over 15,000 wild birds and animals.
Our mission to “Raise, Rehabilitate and Release” is central to everything we do. We cannot do this without the generous help and support of our donors.
Our History
In the March 1978 issue of Woman’s Day magazine, Cheryl Millham saw a photo of a woman holding a baby raccoon. The woman, Jinny Collins, was one of the founders of Wildlife Rescue, a wildlife rehabilitation organization in Los Altos, California. The article reported that Wildlife Rescue was preparing to hold a training seminar to teach local citizens how to care for orphaned and injured wild birds and animals. Cheryl called Jinny and signed up for the class in April 1978.
Cheryl and Tom Millham headed to the training seminar and when they returned to South Lake Tahoe, they contacted entities that regularly came in contact with orphaned and injured wildlife and informed them of their plan to rehabilitate and release these types of animals. Thus, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care was founded.
In 2019, LTWC moved from the Milhams’ home to its current twenty-seven-acre site on Al Tahoe Blvd. In the following years, LTWC has grown to include twelve species-specific animal enclosures, an outdoor learning center, and a large hospital/administration building that includes animal and bird nurseries, a surgery center & clinic, as well as offices and an education/presentation room.
LTWC is committed to being a permanent force for good in the Lake Tahoe Basin. We regularly receive many hundreds of orphaned and injured birds and animals in need of care. Our efforts are then directed to rehabbing them and releasing them back into the wild.
This work is possible because of the support and dedication of thousands of volunteers, donors, and employees.
