Wildlife Inc., a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center at 2207 Avenue B, Bradenton Beach, was left reeling after Hurricane Helene brought in a flood of water and sand.
The storm passed about 150 miles from the island in the Gulf of Mexico Sept. 26 before making landfall near Perry as a Category 4 hurricane. On AMI, it brought storm surge and sand intrusion, causing damage to the rescue facility.
Gail and Ed Straight, who have run Wildlife Inc. rescue 54 years from their home, weathered the surge and now face recovery.
“It (the surge) was going so fast, you couldn’t do anything,” Gail Straight said in an Oct. 1 interview with The Islander. “I mean the refrigerators, the freezers, the washer, the dryer, all the furniture, everything is gone.”
She estimated the surge hit and inundated the house in less than 15 minutes.
“In 10 minutes, it was coming through the floor,” she said.
She said the main building took on close to 3 feet of water, which destroyed equipment and food supplies vital for animal care.
She said most of the animals at the rescue were moved off the island before the storm.
“I kept all my owls and stuff here. We had a frigate and another cage with raccoons,” Straight said.
“The big tortoises that everybody loves, they got moved by my grandson,” she said, referring to Bradenton Beach police Officer Devon Straight. “He was on duty. He came and checked on them and the water was coming up too high. So we moved them into one of the higher cages.”
Throughout the night, the Straights worked to protect the animals at the rescue. She said while the shelter did have some fatalities, most were due to stress.
The morning after the storm, they found the shelter’s two vehicles, used in daily operations, were destroyed.
“The cars were flooded and covered in sand,” Straight said. “All the stuff that we use for shows is in those cars, which are also … molded.”
“We have some electric but we do not have electric in the whole house,” she said. “The animal room has air and light. I’ve got light in the kitchen but that’s it and everything else is just not working.”
Krista Carpenter, a volunteer and spokesperson for the center, who also weathered the storm from her residence in Bradenton Beach, spoke to The Islander Sept. 30.
Carpenter was walking to the shelter from her home to volunteer while the Florida Department of Transportation worked to clear roadways.
She said the loss of equipment at the rescue was substantial.
“We lost two incubators. That’s what we use to keep the babies warm,” Carpenter said. “We lost some heating pads, our big freezer that holds the food for the birds of prey, a standup refrigerator for vegetables for foraging animals and another standup fridge.”
However, without vehicles, the team is unable to carry out rescues, transport animals to events and replenish food supplies.
“We’ve had to cancel (events) and that financially is going to crush us,” Carpenter said.
While Wildlife Inc. is in repair, people who find injured wildlife should reach out to Save Our Seabirds, 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, or the Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida, 925 N. Jackson, Venice.
Save Our Seabirds can be contacted 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 941-388-3010.
The Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida can be contacted 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at 941-484-9657.
Wildlife Inc., which operates primarily through donations and volunteer support, now faces a daunting path to recovery. The center is working on removing sand from the building, drying out equipment and replacing essential supplies.
Many in the community rallied around the center.
The center needs financial donations, volunteers for cleanup efforts and replacement vehicles. Additional supplies like animal food, medical equipment and cleaning products also are needed.
Straight said the situation was not conducive to a happy birthday for her, which was coming up Oct. 6.
“I’ll be 71 years old, so uh … Happy birthday to me,” she quipped. “I’m not a big birthday person anyway. So that’s a good thing. But this is awful.”
Despite the challenges, both Straight and Carpenter remained hopeful.
“I won’t let it beat me,” Straight said. “I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. There’s a whole island that’s been destroyed.”
She also said people calling into the rescue to help might not get through and should try to converse with the rescue through Facebook. “I can’t answer the phone. I don’t have a phone at the moment.”
How can you help Wildlife Inc?
Wildlife Inc. accepts donations through its website and at its Bradenton Beach location via Facebook appointments.
Volunteers interested in helping with cleanup efforts are encouraged to reach out directly.
The group is also accepting donations through a GoFundMe account:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hurricane-relief-for-wildlife-inc.About Wildlife Inc.
Founded in 1987, Wildlife Inc. is a rescue and rehabilitation center run by Gail and Ed Straight from their residence, 2207 Avenue B, Bradenton Beach. It is the largest rehabilitation and rescue center for wildlife in Manatee County, treating thousands of birds, mammals and reptiles since its founding. It is a nonprofit and is run by volunteers.
To contact Wildlife Inc., call 941-778-6324, go online to wildlifeinc.org or search @WildlifeInc. on Facebook.