Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife CROW

The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) is located in Sanibel Island, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and today, cares for more than 4,000 animals every year. CROW is the work of Shirley Walter. After finding a royal tern injured, she took the bird to her home. After telling a few of her friends about her resident, they worked to heal the bird and return it to its natural habitat. In no time at all, others were calling Walter's and her team to help with other injured wildlife. In 2010, CROW unveiled its renovated sea turtle sanctuary. In addition to healing animals, CROW also aims to educate the public and those interested in working with wildlife. The center offers an externship for veterinary students. This program brings students into the center to help with the animals over a four to 12 week period of time. They learn maintenance and cleaning, observation and handling, nutrition, feeding, care and outreach skills. CROW also runs an internship program that teaches many of the same skills, but allows students to work primarily in the facility's hospital. This program lasts for a full year and might offer an opportunity to live on site while caring for the animals.