Sturgeon Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation and Learning Center

06/10/2025

08/28/2018

Northern Michigan wildlife needs your help! Is there anyone interested in becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator?

This is a good place to start:
Basic Skills Class; Eaton Rapids, MI - Hosted by Wildside Rehabilitation Center October 20-21, 2018

This is an introductory course for beginning wildlife or novice rehabilitators seeking formal education. It can also be an excellent refresher for the intermediate or experienced rehabilitator.

05/08/2018

White-tailed deer fawns are typically born in May and June, so we’ll start seeing fawns around Michigan soon. If you do spot a baby deer, enjoy the moment from a distance but remember to leave it be.

While fawns may seem abandoned, they rarely are.

* It’s not uncommon for deer to leave their fawns unattended for up to eight hours at a time.

* For the first few weeks of a fawn’s life, its mother will hide it in secluded locations to help reduce the potential of predators finding the fawn. A fawn’s spots are excellent camouflage, and it has very little scent, which will help it stay hidden from predators.

* The mother deer will return for her fawns when she feels it is safe.

The best chance for fawns’ survival is to leave them in the wild. If you find a fawn alone, do not touch it, as this might leave your scent and could attract predators. Give it plenty of space and leave the area quickly. 🦌

Finding Fawns - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIDZMNXR9xI

07/21/2016

Sadly, this year the Sturgeon Valley Wildlife Rehab Center closed. The owner, 79 year old Cindy Burns, has retired and moved away. Cindy dedicated years of her life to rehabilitating the injured and orphaned animals of Northern Michigan. She would love nothing more than to see her work carried on. The rehab facility is now up for sale and it's time to pass on this amazing place to someone new. Please spread the word that her facility is on the market. Hopefully someone will be able to buy it and take over doing the wonderful work she started so many years ago. The facility is located on 60 beautiful wooded acres along the west branch of the Sturgeon River. The main house overlooks the river and the property is all set up with an aviary, a fawn pen, several outbuildings to house smaller animals, and a large 48x36 pole barn with it's own well and septic. Everything is all set up to rehabilitate and all the outbuildings have water and power. The home is listed with Kidd & Leavy Real Estate. For more information and to see the listing follow this link. http://www.kiddleavy.com/listing/448462-2556-watson-hills-trail-vanderbilt-mi-49795/

05/25/2016

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1003967896319883&id=168269616556386

12/30/2015

2016 will bring in some big changes for Cindy Burns, founder and owner of Sturgeon Valley Wildlife Rehab. She will be retiring and relocating to Stanton, Michigan. The rehab facility will close and be put up for sale sometime in the spring. She has enjoyed the many, many years of rehabbing wildlife and hopes that someone can someday take over and fill her shoes. We can't thank her enough for all the years of hard work and love she has shown to so many animals in need. She gave herself completely to them and gave so many a second chance. We are going to miss her immensely, but wish her all the best in this new chapter of her life.

07/16/2015

The young fox with the broken pelvis has healed and was released today. He was lucky enough to be release back to the area he was originally discovered. The nice people who found him injured several weeks ago were very glad to see him well again. What a happy day!

07/15/2015

Hungry fawns!

07/08/2015

Meet Sheldon. Sheldon is a wood turtle. He was hit by a car and suffered compression fractures on both sides of his shell. He is healing and doing well. In Michigan, the wood turtle's status is of special concern and is considered rare or uncertain. It is legally protected under the MDNR Director's order. Sheldon was fortunate to be found by a very kind and concerned individual who brought him to us for care and treatment. It is obvious that Sheldon is a fighter, because he came to us with only three legs. Who knows how or when Sheldon lost his leg, but he'd healed on his own and has been living as a three legged turtle for quite some time. Sometimes though, nature just needs a little help.