Meet Our Ambassadors | volunteers4wildlife

Meet Our Animal Ambassadors!

Volunteers for Wildlife provides permanent sanctuary for 23 wild ambassadors with disabilities that prevent their release to the wild.

These animal ambassadors are an integral part of our educational programming and help us to inspire the public to love and protect our native species.
Click on their photos to read their stories!

Meet Our Ambassadors!

Mama

Great Horned Owl

Mama is a female Great Horned Owl. She was admitted to our hospital in 1991 after she was confiscated from a gas station where she was being kept illegally as a roadside attraction. Sadly, Mama had a very poorly healed fracture of her wing which required amputation. She now lives a comfortable life at our center as our oldest ambassador!

Marcus

Great Horned Owl

Marcus was admitted to our hospital in 2005 following an entanglement in fishing line. Unfortunately, the fishing line caused permanent damage to the tendons of Marcus' wing and he is no longer able to fly with the symmetry needed for hunting. Marcus is a crowd favorite at our programs.

Otis

Eastern Screech Owl

Otis is one of the newest members of our education team. Otis hatched in 2019 outside of Chicago, IL. As a young nestling, he was attacked by another bird which resulted in the loss of his left eye. Otis was a beloved ambassador at another rehabilitation center and was recently transferred to live his life at our center as one of our ambassadors.