Nolin River Wildlife
Nolin River Wildlife is a 501c-3 licensed rehab facility with a goal of educating the community on how to coexist with their local wildlife while rehabbing orphaned and injured mammals to return them back to the wild. While the primary goal of Nolin River Wildlife is to rehab animals that are in need of help, their ultimate goal is to encourage coexistence between humans and the animals on our planet. The rehabilitation of these animals is useless if we, as humans, do not learn to live with animals.
Nolin River Wildlife was founded in 2015. After a 30-year-long career as a speech therapist, Mary Key decided to take a leap of faith. She quit her therapy profession and dedicated herself to saving animals. Nolin River Wildlife grew from her home as she took in more animals — deer, raccoons, groundhogs, squirrels, opossums — all with the intent of nurturing them to a point where they can be released back into their habitat. However long they are with her, Mary treats them like family. Mary wants to do more than just care for wildlife — she wants to teach others about each animal’s contribution to the environment and how they also affect our personal lives.
The core values of Nolin River Wildlife are:
- Every life matters. Animals are treated with respect and compassion.
- We are a part of the ecosystem. There are benefits to coexistence.
- Goodness can come from anywhere. Not every animal can be saved, but we can learn from our experiences with them.
Nolin River Wildlife’s Thoughts on Local Wildlife
Most people don’t understand the importance of wildlife in our environment. Every animal has a purpose that helps keep the land fertile, pest population low, and the ecosystem balanced. Without these creatures, we would see decreases in harvest as well as livestock population.
Raccoons
Thanks to their preference for a variety of foods, raccoons help keep your property free of pests. For example, raccoons will eat wasp larvae and destroy the nest. Raccoons also eat other pests such as small rodents, keeping your property free of a variety of problems.
Opossums are America’s only marsupial. One opossum can eat up to 5,000 ticks in one season yet don’t contract or carry Lyme disease. They also eat insects, snails, small rodents, and dead stuff. They are nature’s own pest control and cleanup crew. If you see one, leave it alone. They don’t intend any harm and some think they’re ugly, they are more scared than scary.
This photo is of an opossum rescued by Nolin River Wildlife named Waffles. She came to NRW with her siblings; her mom had been killed. Everyone else was growing and doing well. Waffles just wasn’t getting any bigger, and she was classified as failure to thrive. After having a close call, where she nearly died, she went into a special care setting and after several months, she became the beautiful girl she is today.
Opossums
Squirrels
The catching behavior of seeds by squirrels is very important for the renewal of many tree species. Squirrels promote germination by hiding the seeds far from the trees. Much of the renewal of chestnut trees, stone pine, beech, hazel and to a lesser extent, oaks, is related to the action of seed dispersal conducted by squirrels.
Adaptable to diverse environments, coyotes provide the following ecological benefits: Coyotes limit mesocarnivore populations and increase bird diversity. An abundance of mesocarnivores such as skunks, raccoons, and foxes as well as feral cats can have a destructive impact on bird populations by raiding nests, etc. While coyotes can coexist with these species, studies indicate that coyotes limit mesocarnivore populations largely through competitive exclusion, thereby having a positive impact on ground-nesting birds and songbird diversity and abundance. Coyotes provide an invaluable public health service by helping to control rodents, thus reducing the spread of rodent-born zoonotic diseases such as plague and hantavirus. As scavengers, coyotes provide an ecological service by helping to keep our communities clean of carrion (dead things).
Coyotes
Join us in supporting Nolin River Wildlife
75% of this month's donations will go towards this month's partner
This month and every month, Wild Boyz Photography will be partnering with one nonprofit. 75% of any donations that we receive during the month will go to the nonprofit. Help Nolin River Wildlife to rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals in Kentucky.