The West Shore Wildlife Center moved into its new Dover Township home this week from Newberry Township, where it has been helping injured wildlife since 2019. The center specializes in rehabilitating wild reptiles, birds and mammals with a goal of releasing healthy animals back into their environment.

A combination of growth and a deadline given by the township to vacate the former Eagle Lane address at the end of 2023 provided the push to find a new location. 

“Stemming from that notice, it gave us a deadline, but we knew that we had outgrown it so we are really excited to have more square footage and more outside space,” said Emily Garrigan, founder and executive director.

Thirty volunteers and a capital campaign helped make the purchase of a new space possible, Garrigan added. To date they have reached $175,000 of their $300,000 goal.

The new location in a rural setting, just two miles from Gifford Pinchot State Park in a former three-bedroom home on 3.6 acres, has room to grow. 

Forty-one animals were brought over from the old center on moving day, that included 20 “permanent ambassador” animals that will live out their lives at the center but are unable to be released back into the wild due to their injuries. 

The relatively new, former home has a large back deck and floors with a recent epoxy surface. There is a large raptor cage in the backyard and various other smaller cages for animals acclimated to the outdoors. Inside, there are tanks for reptiles and cages for various other animals at different stages of convalescing. The large acreage has room for expansion. 

“This will be the forever home of the West Shore Wildlife Center,” Garrigan said, adding that moving the facility closer to the center of York County will make access from Adams County easier for people searching out a licensed rehabilitator.

In 2023, the center took in 2,200 animals as patients, Garrigan said. “Our goal is always to release them back into the wild.” The center has three full-time workers and 25 volunteers.

The center sees Eastern Cottontails, Virginia opossums, groundhogs, Mallard ducklings, turtles, bats, hummingbirds, birds of prey among other birds and mammals. 

When Garrigan was asked what was the strangest thing that anyone has brought in, she said two butterflies. One was suffering an infection and the other one had an injury. “It was still cool that people cared enough about butterflies, to want to help them.”

For species-specific information when trying to determine what is an emergency and how to reach West Shore Wildlife Center, visit westshorewildlife.org/helpifound