Focusing on local, native wildlife
Since Chattahoochee Nature Center’s founding in 1976, the Wildlife Department has been a major part of the CNC visitor experience. Very few facilities in the state exhibited native wildlife; zoos typically focused on exotic animals such as polar bears, lions and tigers, monkeys and apes, and kangaroos. CNC was entirely different with their concentration on animals that could be found in the visitors’ own neighborhoods.
In 1982, the area that currently houses the Bald Eagles was home to foxes. The aviaries for the captive large raptors (and crows!) were in a row next to Frog Pond, while the Eastern Screech Owls and snakes were housed in the original Discovery Center. The following year, a renovated wildlife treatment area opened. In 1989, CNC received our first pair of non-releasable eagles and the mammal exhibit area was converted to an eagle aviary.
Also in 1989, a stand-alone building was constructed roughly half-way between Frog Pond and the lower retaining wall of the current Discovery Center. This was quite a step up, as there was now space for an office, a bathroom, and a large room for caging and food prep. Four enclosures were built behind the new Clinic, housing glove-trained raptors.
Flight cages were constructed for rehabilitating raptors to strengthen. However, there was no storage in the new building so the “old yellow barn” next door stored the food freezers, extra kennels, and other items.
Wildlife rehabilitation has been a part of CNC since 1977 and nearly 50 years ago, very few licensed rehabilitators existed. Because so few individuals could legally care for injured and orphaned wildlife, the Wildlife Director (called the Wildlife Manager at the time) held rehabilitation permits from GA Department of Natural Resources and US Fish and Wildlife Services for all species of animals. This means that more than 200 patients arrived each month. For instance, in June 1990 we received 165 songbirds, 9 reptiles, 21 mammals, and 14 raptors for a total of 209 animals for care! The Wildlife Clinic worked out of the back rooms of the Discovery Center and visitors carried the animals through the gift shop and exhibit areas to reach the Treatment Room door.
In 2000, the Camille Creamer Beaver Exhibit opened, finally allowing Wildlife staff to move to sibling beavers out of the Clinic and into their own exhibit. These brothers were orphaned at 3 days old after their parents were trapped and removed from their lodge in Dunwoody.
As CNC’s grew, both land-wise and visitor-wise, new exhibit aviaries were constructed to move the large raptors out into the center of the lower property. In late 2001-early 2002, construction began on the aviaries you see today. The birds were moved from their old enclosures next to the Wildlife Department building into their expanded homes in 2002. (They were rebuilt in 2023-2024 on the same foundations).
Additionally, more rehabilitators became licensed in Georgia so in 2001, CNC decided to focus on the species that few others had the capability or space to rehabilitate – raptors, reptiles, and amphibians. Wildlife staff also focused on natural histories of the animals to educate callers and visitors. Previously, fledgling songbirds, hatchling turtles, juvenile squirrels, and other young animals who were brought to the Clinic were accepted and raised until they were old enough to be on their own. Now, we explain what the animal is doing at that stage of life and why it is important to return it to its location for the parent to care for it, assuming it is uninjured. Focusing on just these three groups of animals also decreased our intake numbers by nearly half. For example, in June 2025, we received 107 patients – 33 raptors, 3 amphibians, and 71 reptiles.
In 2008, the planned construction of the new Discovery Center meant that several buildings, including the Wildlife Clinic had to move. The new Clinic, which has a Treatment Room nearly the size of the entire old Clinic!) moved to the edge of the parking lot. This location change greatly benefitted the animals brought for treatment. No longer were they subjected to loud noises of excited children just outside the door of the Clinic or shown to other visitors before being brought to the Clinic, which causes undue stress.
In 2012, through the generous support of a previous Board member and long-time Wildlife Department “angel,” a portable x-ray machine was purchased. This allowed Wildlife Department staff to better assess injured animals brought for treatment, as well as monitor the physical conditions of some of our resident animals. For instance, one of our Great Horned Owl seemed to be uncomfortable and was not maintaining weight as she should. Thanks to in-house x-rays we determined she was about to lay an egg – the first in her 20+ years at CNC!
In 2019, we received a grant to purchase an anesthesia machine. We have long-time supporting vets who not only conduct health assessments on our residents, but also our rehabilitation patients. This equipment, coupled with the x-ray machine provides our vets the ability to do minor surgeries here on site, minimizing the stress on the animal of transporting them for treatment.
In summer 2024, we launched a fundraising campaign to refurbish the viewing area at the Bald Eagle aviary. Thanks to generous support, we raised the necessary funds just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July—the same year the Bald Eagle was officially recognized as the nation’s symbol.
As part of the project, the viewing platform was rebuilt and a permanent access ladder was installed, providing Wildlife Department staff with safe and reliable access to the area.
As one of the premiere wildlife rehabilitation centers in the southeast, we now receive raptors, reptiles, and amphibians from around the state. In 2025, over 835 animals passed through the door of the Wildlife Clinic for treatment. Intake numbers continue to increase so there is a good chance we will reach 850 or more cases in 2026 for CNC’s 50th birthday.
