Patty Loew:
In our next report, we revisit a place Wisconsin Public Television first reported on in the mid 1980s. At the time the Northwoods Wildlife Center was only six years old and fighting to survive, treating and releasing injured wildlife. "In Wisconsin" reporter Art Hackett shows you how the center transformed into a tourist attraction while serving injured and orphaned animals in Minocqua.

Art Hackett:
Minocqua has numerous attractions for visitors, lakes and shops come to mind. But people come to the northwoods for nature. So it's understandable that a place called the Northwoods Wildlife Center would draw tourists.

Woman:
We'll see a snowy owl next.

Art Hackett:
Every half hour a guide walks visitors through displays of animals which are residents at the center.         

Beth Burns:
The permanent resident birds are those that have been injured badly enough that they'll not be able to be released into the wild. They get to stay here and be part of our education program. Phoenix here is imprinted on humans, which means that she's too familiar with people. She was confiscated in Alaska and in that situation she had been put into a small cage and taken out of her nest. She never developed her wing muscles fully so she can't fly strongly and she can't pick up food and fly off with it.

Art Hackett:
Beth Burns is the center's executive director.

Beth Burns:
My father started working here in 1988 so after school I would come and sit with some of the animals while he was finishing up work. In 1989 I started giving tours.

Art Hackett:
But educating and hopefully entertaining visitors is only part of the center's mission. The center was founded to care for injured wildlife and, if possible, return the critters to their natural habitat. The center was started in 1979 by a veterinarian, Dr. Rory Foster.

Beth Burns:
Rory Foster was a veterinarian and he had a veterinary clinic right next to where this building is. He kept getting wild animals in so he recognized that there was a need for that.

Art Hackett:
Foster died in 1987.

Beth Burns:
There are still some veterinarians that get wild animals and they call us now. Rory decided to start this place and start caring for the wild animals.

Art Hackett:
Mark Naniot is the center's wildlife rehabilitator.

Mark Naniot:
That one was hit by a car and brought in a couple of weeks ago. Didn't have major injuries, just bruising, a little swelling on one foot so his recovery was pretty short here and he was only here for 2 ½ weeks. That was a nice easy one. What he's going to do is sit and get his bearings for a little while and decide where he wants to be. Whether he has a family some place that he wants to get back to.

Art Hackett:
We visited the center once before in 1984. The center has been spruced up and expanded since then. And the center itself has been adopted by people who live in the area. Much of the meat and fish fed to the birds is donated by sportsmen and -women. When people come to the center, they mainly see birds. Some animals are not on display to the public because rehabilitationists don't want them getting too used to being around humans because they'll soon be released back into the wild. There are bears. Mark Naniot takes in the food and leaves before the bears are released into the feeding area. There have been lots of bears at the center this year. They were brought in by volunteers after they were found by the public or by DNR wardens. But animal rehabilitationist Mark Naniot said some of the deer and birds are brought in unnecessarily.

Mark Naniot:
Especially in our area where we have a large tourist base in this particular area, people come up for the beauty of the lakes and the natural areas but they might be from the city so they don't realize that, for example, fawns are left alone for a large part of the time when they're very young by their mothers so they see this fawn laying there by itself. Don't see a mother around so they assume, we have to take this fawn and bring it to the Northwoods Wildlife Center because it's abandoned. Not realizing the mother is staying away from the fawns to not draw attention to it.

Art Hackett:
Some of the fawns you have out there...

Mark Naniot:
Are probably kidnap victims, yes. Sometimes people are very understanding and other times they think they know what's best and they think you're telling them the wrong thing and they're just going to bring it in anyway.

Art Hackett:
Wildlife belongs to the state and the department of natural resources forbids people from holding it captive. In 2004 administrative rules allowed places such as the Northwoods Wildlife Center to obtain licenses.

Mark Naniot:
We're trying to make it a profession. Get people out there better trained, understand what they need to do with animals, and be more aware of diseases, educate the public and do what's right for the animal.

Patty Loew:
The Northwoods Wildlife Center is a non-profit organization and takes donations for tours. Much of its money comes from people who sponsor the animals.