How Owl's Nest Began

It all started when Kris Porter, Director of Owl's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary, received a call from a fellow zookeeper. They said she was wasting her time and should become a rescue and rehab specialist and Kris rose to the challenge. It began with raising baby squirrels and rabbits, but like the babies she was raising it quickly grew. Within four months the licensing was finished and Owl's Nest was born. Today we have over 200 volunteers who do everything from clerical to construction work, rescue to rehab and everything in between.

Why Rescue Wildlife?

The dangers to Florida wildlife are increasing exponentially. Many our keystone species (species that our ecosystem depends on to remain in balance) are already endangered due to:

• Construction
• Roadways
• Speeding drivers
• New housing developments
• Domestic pet attacks
• Poisoning
• Careless fishermen both commercial and recreational
• Mothers orphaning their young
• Careless people
• Poaching
• Uneducated tourists who interfere with our native species
• Professional lawn crews

The answer to why some of us stay up all night feeding young possums, run out on our lunch break to pick up an injured animal, are on call 24/7, attend events even though we are tired from feeding birds, squirrels, and other critters all night, is because we care about our wildlife and want to see it survive for generations to come.

Who We Are

Who we are is simple. We are everyone. We are electricians, mothers, daughters, sons, fathers, teachers, students, veterinarians, military vets, retirees, accountants, writers, web designers, and just about every other size, type, gender, and style of person out there. We are those that have experience and those that are just learning. We are volunteers who pay for our own gas, supplies, nets, and other needful things. Most importantly we are those that care enough to give up our nights, weekends, weekdays, and money in order to save Florida wildlife from harm.