The weekend was scorching hot, but that didn’t stop more than 4,300 people from attending Critter Care’s annual open house — where they got up close and personal with B.C.’s orphaned and injured wildlife.
“I really want to thank everyone, from the volunteers to the firefighters and RCMP who came out, and especially all those who came to visit under these hot conditions,” said Critter Care founder Gail Martin.
Numbers were down a bit on Sunday, mainly because of the heat and the World Cup final.
At the open houses she was caring for two very young raccoons that had been brought in Saturday. A new bear cub was also brought in over the weekend bringing the total to seven rescued this year.
In total, Critter Care has taken in 700 orphaned and injured animals, including 10 fawns, three river otters, a beaver kit, more than 100 baby raccoons and orphaned squirrels and skunks.
The interns, who come from all over the world to care for the animals, showed their charges to the public, while educating them about the babies’ needs, including having to get up in the middle of the night to bottle feed them with special formula.
Critter Care survives on donations from the public and the open house is are their biggest fundraiser, followed by their dinner and dance held in April.
