Photos

Wild ARC is a Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre operated by the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. As the only wildlife rehabilitation centre on southern Vancouver Island, Wild ARC treats more than 3,000 wild animals annually from throughout the region. Wild ARC's mission is to provide humane care to injured, orphaned, sick and distressed wildlife based on established rehabilitation standards and the animal's natural history. Each patient is treated individually and assessed for eventual release back into the wild. Wild ARC also aims to educate the public about wildlife, animal welfare, and co-existing with nature, as over 80% of the wild animals treated at Wild ARC are impacted by human activity.

If you think an animal is abandoned, injured or in distress please call Wild ARC for advice and see the website for information before you try to capture the animal yourself. A lot of young animals are left by their parents for periods of time and are not abandoned. Also, handling animals can cause them large amounts of stress.

Hours of operation

• April to September
  Daily, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm - 7 days a week
• October to March
  Daily, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm - 7 days a week

In order to keep the environment for the wild animals in care as stress-free as possible, Wild ARC is not open for public tours. All of the animals at Wild ARC are in treatment for eventual release back into the wild - none are kept permanently in a display setting. Wild animals are very different from domestic animals and quickly become stressed and frightened in noisy and brightly lit environments. Imprinting is also a serious concern for wild animals destined for release, as we do not want them to become accustomed to humans (their smells and noises) and think that proximity to people is a safe situation. In the wild, animals that approach or are not afraid of humans quickly become in great danger of being killed or injured. For these reasons, there are no ongoing public tours through the season. However, please consider visiting during the Annual Spring Open House, which is the one weekend a year when members of the public can visit the facility and the few winter patients in care at that time are temporarily moved to off-limits areas so their treatment is not disturbed.

The Wild ARC website also includes critter cams, an online store, sponsorship opporunities, photo contest, event info and more.

Background image and photo by BC SPCA Wild ARC
To see more wild animal photos like the ones below see the Nature page.