Toronto Wildlife Centre

Toronto Wildlife Centre Since opening in 1993, over 120,000 wild animals (300 species) have been admitted.
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TWC is a registered charity dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, and to educating the public on wildlife-related issues. Toronto Wildlife Centre is the only veterinary hospital and rehabilitation facility for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals in the GTA. Admitting approximately 5,000 patients each year representing over 270 unique species, an

d helping tens of thousands more via an internationally admired wildlife emergency hotline and a myriad of public education initiatives, Toronto Wildlife Centre is the busiest wildlife centre in Canada and a leader in the field of wildlife rehabilitation.

08/13/2026

It really does take a village! From the diligent rescue, to the veterinary specialist who kindly donated his expertise, saving this baby swan’s life was a team effort every step of the way.

Don and Kelly first spotted the cygnet swimming with his family, bright orange fishing waste hanging from his beak. They immediately contacted Toronto Wildlife Centre for help, and the Rescue Team rushed out to bring the baby in.

When Dr. Chloé Stefanopoulos x-rayed the swan, she discovered a sharp hook lodged deep in his throat. An operation would be risky, so the medical team consulted experts to find a safer way to remove the hook. That’s when Dr. Doug Mason, an internist at VEC Toronto, generously agreed to help. He could perform a specialized procedure using an endoscope - a flexible, camera-equipped tube through which he can pass various tiny surgical tools.

Once at VEC, the baby was sedated and prepped for the procedure. Guided by a live video feed, Dr. Mason carefully maneuvered tiny tools down the patient’s throat, dislodged the hook from the delicate tissue, and carefully pulled it out.

After the successful procedure, the cygnet was brought back to TWC for specialized care. Once he had recovered and was eating well, he was brought back to his home and reunited with his family! Thank you to Mute Swan Society for providing the clips of the reunion.

A special thank you to Dr. Mason and the compassionate team at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Toronto for helping to save this baby’s life.

Veterinarian Dr. Chloé Stefanopoulos gave the belted kingfisher pain medication before placing her in an oxygen chamber ...
08/12/2026

Veterinarian Dr. Chloé Stefanopoulos gave the belted kingfisher pain medication before placing her in an oxygen chamber to support her breathing. The new patient had suffered several injuries after she had struck a window earlier that day. Tamara had luckily found her, contacted Toronto Wildlife Centre, and rushed the injured bird in.

Dr. Stefanopoulos was concerned with the kingfisher’s lethargic behaviour. Normally this species was quite vocal, attempting to defend themselves against their caregivers. But this one was showing signs of head trauma, and the collision had left her with painful eye injuries and bruising on her delicate shoulder. Urgent treatment began and the patient was tube-fed slurry to keep her strength up. A few hours later, she was already looking much brighter! What a relief!

The kingfisher was placed in a soft-sided enclosure with fresh water and greenery to continue her recovery. She was given lots of minnows to eat and monitored closely as her injuries healed. 💚

08/10/2026

Ping and Ming were visiting a local pond when they spotted a cygnet dangerously entangled in fishing line that was tethered to her mother. As the large adult swam, the poor baby was dragged alongside her. Fearing for the cygnet's life, they alerted the Wildlife Hotline.

When the Rescue Team arrived, the line had already been cut. The mother was preening on shore, but the cygnet was in critical condition. There were two other baby swans in the family, one who also appeared to have injuries that required medical attention. The Rescue Team rushed the mother and her two injured babies to Toronto Wildlife Centre. The third and healthy baby remained with the father swan.

The female swan had only lost a few feathers, however both her babies had painful constriction wounds from the fishing line. The young patients were weak and reluctant to walk. One had a fishhook carefully removed from her foot and underwent surgery to remove tissue damaged by the fishing line that had tethered her to her mother.

The other baby had a large wound on the side of her body as well as a fractured toe from a previous incident. After the Veterinary Team treated their ailments, the babies were placed in an enclosure to recover with the comforting presence of their mother.

The family was often seen keeping cool in a freshwater pool and appeared at ease as they softly vocalized with one another. With compassionate care, the babies recovered and the family has since been released back to where they belong. 💚

UPDATE: Thank you so much to those who have kindly offered to donate! As of August 10th, we are no longer in need of new...
08/07/2026

UPDATE: Thank you so much to those who have kindly offered to donate! As of August 10th, we are no longer in need of newspaper.

Don’t toss out that newspaper!

This seemingly simple item is a hot commodity at Toronto Wildlife Centre. It’s used to line enclosures for many wild patients and helps keep temporary homes clean for animals like Eastern screech owls and striped skunks. It also provides enrichment opportunities for species like growing red squirrels who burrow and nestle in shredded pieces.

Turn your trash into treasure for wildlife by donating newspapers before they hit your recycling bin. Prior to drop off, please sort through and remove any admail or glossy paper; formats like the Toronto Star, National Post etc. work best.

If you’re able to donate or have any questions, please call our Donations Team at (416) 631-0662 ext. 3207, or email [email protected] to make arrangements for drop-off. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer pick-up services.

Please share and spread the word! 💚

08/06/2026

Shuvojyoti was enjoying a picnic with his family when the rain suddenly began to pour. Out of nowhere, a tiny baby bird ran up to them, peeping loudly and shaking. Oh no! She was surely too young to be on her own. The kindhearted family tried to look for the chick’s parents, but sadly there was no sign of them. So they placed her in a cup, contacted the Wildlife Hotline, and drove straight to Toronto Wildlife Centre.

The baby bird was a spotted sandpiper! Naschelly was happy to see her standing and walking confidently with her tiny legs, softly peeping. Though the new patient was dehydrated, she had some strength in her and was otherwise in good health. The Registered Veterinary Technician gave her fluids and tube-fed her a nutritious slurry, then placed her in an incubator to rest and keep warm. The orphan was also offered other foods too, like bloodworms, mealworms, fruit flies, and minnows to chow down on.

Now, the little sandpiper is growing quickly and her flight is looking great! Once she’s ready to start life on her own, she’ll be brought back to where she belongs. 💚

08/05/2026

High up in a tree, a mother Cooper's hawk watched over her babies. But during a severe storm, their nest was blown apart, sending some of the nestlings tumbling to the ground. Kindhearted Parmpartap noticed the vulnerable babies and sought help. With the nest in no condition to safely house the young birds, the Rescue Team needed to come up with a creative solution to reunite the family.

At this time of year too, fledgling hawks are ready to take their first flight. Sometimes they run into troubling situations! In just two days, four young red-tailed hawks from different locations needed help:

One had attempted to fly but crashed into a restaurant sign…

Another had tried to take off from a yard but got her foot caught in a birdfeeder…

Two more were seen struggling to untangle themselves from pigeon netting…

From a tiny nestling to these four fledglings, watch the Rescue Team reunite the youngsters with their families: https://youtu.be/dApvNAHJhd8

When Marnie first noticed the family of wood ducks on her neighbour's driveway, she didn’t think too much about it. But ...
08/03/2026

When Marnie first noticed the family of wood ducks on her neighbour's driveway, she didn’t think too much about it. But when they hadn’t left for over an hour, her worry grew. The homeowner knew there wasn’t a body of water nearby, other than her neighbour’s pool, and she wasn’t sure if the mother would be able to bring the wee ones to a safe area. When the family huddled under a car, she knew it was time to contact the Wildlife Hotline for help.

It’s not uncommon for ducks to nest in quiet backyards with green areas or pools, but once the babies hatch it's important that they make it to a natural source of water to swim and feed. In this case, the Rescue Team needed to help bring this family to a safer place.

Once Rescue Team Manager Andrew arrived at the house, he discovered something unexpected – a tiny duckling was tangled in vegetable netting, peeping loudly as if calling out for help. This explains why the devoted mother was waiting in the driveway, she couldn’t leave her baby! He carefully cut the bird free and brought the whole family to Toronto Wildlife Centre to make sure they were all okay.

Fortunately, the medical team confirmed the little baby was unharmed. In fact, she was very energetic and evaded her caregivers quite well! The family was monitored for a day to make sure they were all healthy, then they were released into a wild and watery spot. 💚

07/31/2026

A red-tailed hawk was rushed to Toronto Wildlife Centre after someone had witnessed him crash into TTC streetcar power lines. The poor bird fell to the ground after the impact. When he immediately tried to fly away, he slammed into a window and landed hard back onto the pavement again.

At TWC, x-rays revealed the injured patient had a severely fractured leg. If the hawk was ever going to walk again, the Veterinary Team needed to perform a complex orthopedic surgery to mend the broken bone. After a successful procedure and two months of post-surgery care, the resilient bird was perching well and soaring back into the sky!

Thanks to the generosity of the Kenneth M Molson Foundation, this red-tailed hawk, along with many other birds of prey, receive the life-saving treatment they need when they find themselves in trouble! The foundation’s kind grant has funded emergency rescue, critical medical care and specialized rehabilitation for so many feathered patients like hawks, falcons, owls, vultures, and more.

Please join us in thanking the Kenneth M. Molson Foundation for their ongoing support!

A little water wasn’t going to stop Andrew from saving this trumpeter swan - and getting her back to the family relying ...
07/30/2026

A little water wasn’t going to stop Andrew from saving this trumpeter swan - and getting her back to the family relying on her!⁠
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When Shona first spotted the swan, she knew something was wrong. The poor bird had a noticeably cracked beak and blood-stained feathers. She called Toronto Wildlife Centre, and Rescue Team’s Andrew sprang into action! He didn’t hesitate to launch a kayak from shore and safely capture the injured swan.⁠
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At TWC, the Veterinary Team discovered a severe fracture on the new patient’s upper beak. This wasn’t just a crack on the surface - it went all the way through to the roof of her mouth, and urgent surgery was needed to repair it. Knowing she had a mate and cygnets (baby swans!) waiting back home, the medical team worked quickly and skillfully. She was given a bath to clean her feathers, and the wound was carefully bandaged until her surgery the next day.⁠
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During the procedure, Veterinarian Dr. Cameron Berg sutured the fracture closed to help it heal. Over time, these stitches will dissolve all on their own.⁠
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The resilient mother swan recovered from surgery beautifully with supportive care, returning to her home a few days later to be reunited with her family. 💚

07/29/2026

Need a moment to cool off in this intense summer heat? Catch some shade and watch a white-winged scoter, red-necked grebe, and American bittern splash around their watery enclosures as they recovered at Toronto Wildlife Centre!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDzWmFnbfZY

All three birds were found on the ground within days of each other, unable to take off. Thankfully, three kind individuals noticed and sought help. Once the new patients were given the urgent medical care they needed, they were placed in carefully-constructed enclosures with freshwater pools, natural vegetation, and plenty of fish to catch!

Address

4/60 Carl Hall Road
Toronto, ON
M3K2C1

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+14166310662

Website

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