Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary

We were referred to Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary (located in southeastern Louisiana) after we found an injured young rabbit that had been hit by a car on a Sunday near St. Joseph's Abbey. We first thought that it was dead, but then Yvonne saw its leg move as we drove by, so I stopped, put on my flashers and we bundled him up in a towel and took him home with us. And so the adventure began...

We were lucky to have a registered nurse and fellow animal lover with us who had experience caring for injured rabbits. Upon careful examination we found that its front left leg had been badly skinned and it was bleeding from the nose. It could not stand and it acted like it had a head injury.

We gave it a little water with an eye dropper and put it in a large cardboard box with the towel and some lettuce and carrots. The box was put in one of the out buildings that had good ventilation. We checked on it several times on Sunday. The next morning little Georgie (after the young injured rabbit in Lawson's, Rabbit Hill) was sitting up against the side of the box and he hopped around a little.

We were told that rabbits (especially wild ones) can be frightened to death, so we moved slowly and kept handling him to a minimum. We treated the skinned leg with antibiotic ointment and put a dish of water and some rabbit food and greens into the box. He seemed to get his balance back and by the end of the day he was standing on his own and was producing normal "rabbit pills".

On Tuesday morning, though, its poop was not normal and it didn't appear to have eaten anything so we began to call the local rehab place. We found that their facility was full and we couldn't even leave a message, so we contacted Wings of Hope which was 45 miles away, near the town of Frost.

Leslie Lattimore, the director, said that she would take in the little rabbit so we bundled him into a smaller box and off we went to find the sanctuary. After making a couple of wrong turns, but getting to see a lot of beautiful scenary, we finally found Wings of Hope, not too far from Tickfaw State Park.

Leslie said that Little Georgie had a good chance of surviving. She explained that when she gets injured rabbits, she fills the cage with hay so that they can burrow into it and feel safe. Of course food and water is also placed in the cage and soon they usually begin to eat.

Wild Otters Return by naturegirl7

The sanctuary walls are covered with photos of various rehabilitated animals, which Leslie periodically releases in Tickfaw State Park. She had rescued and raised two orphaned river otters, before releasing them two years ago, into the Tickfaw river, one mile from her place. Just like in the wild, once the young leave home, they periodically return to visit their mom. Luckily, the otters picked the day we brought in the rabbit, to stop by to say hello to "mom". So, as Leslie walked us out, just outside the sanctuary door, we were surprised to find her two visitors, whom she hadn't seen in months.

Getting to meet and interact with "Rosie", the female River Otter, was just another reward for our rabbit rescue.

Rehabilitating and Educating

Wings of Hope has been busy recently. Besides rehabilitating the injured cottontail rabbit that we found, Leslie and her volunteers have rehabbed and released four barred owls into Tickfaw State Park. The release was in conjunction with a night walking tour conducted by the Tickfaw Nature Center staff. Wings of Hope has also conducted many educational sessions in local schools and libraries.

The following photos of animals in our habitat show the types of animals that are routinely rehabilitated at Wings of Hope.

5th Annual Open House

Early December of each year. Check the Wings of Hope website for the exact date.

Tour of the facility and Silent auction of donated items.

Contact Information

Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary

Leslie Lattimore, Director

1-225-698-3168

1-225-698-6099

A percentage of the proceeds from this lens will be donated to Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary.

Wings of Hope is a 501c3 non-profit organization which operates on donations from concerned citizens. If you'd like to donate to or join this wonderful organization please visit the Wings of Hope website.

This was not taken at Wings of Hope Sanctuary, but shows the work that is done at a rehab Center Sanctuary.

Check out this great poster that Wings of Hope is selling. Just click on it to see how to purchase it.