The J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is located on the subtropical barrier island of Sanibel in the Gulf of Mexico. The refuge is part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the United States. It is world famous for its spectacular migratory bird populations.
J. N. "Ding" Darling is one of over 550 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
There are over 20 dedicated full-time and part-time staff members who are charged with carrying out the mission of the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, largely supporting environmental education.
Sanibel's Ding Darling Refuge provides a necessary stop over for migratory birds, some of whom travel as much as 600 miles a day in their migration route.
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, C.R.O.W operates a veterinary hospital, educational program and public visitor education center on a 12.5-acre campus on Sanibel Island, Florida. The organization's primary mission is the rescue, care, rehabilitation and eventual release back to the wild of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. Inherent in this mission is the education of adults and children, encouraging them to live a peaceful coexistence with their wild neighbors.
These two organizations have won accolades for the work that they do, much of it life saving for the birds we all love so much.
But recent findings have brought the two organizations working together on a most unusual "problem". Hurricane Sandy, which wrecked havoc on so many areas further north totally disrupted the flight patterns of many migratory birds. Some of those, such as the penguin-like Razorbill, lost their radar and ended up in Ding Darling, a very southern landing for the birds who do not fly this far.
Wildlife specialists have never seen a Razorbill here on Sanibel, but 19 recently have been brought to wildlife rescues such as C.R.O.W. The black and white waterbirds resembling penguins usually don't travel any farther south than Virginia. Hurricane Sandy disrupted their migration.
While the Razorbills are having their challenges in finding adequate food sources in this tropical wonderland; the special cooperation and diligent attention on the part of Ding Darling and C.R.O.W. is giving them a fighting chance to survive.
These two organizations have won accolades for the work that they do, much of it life saving for the birds we all love so much.
But recent findings have brought the two organizations working together on a most unusual "problem". Hurricane Sandy, which wrecked havoc on so many areas further north totally disrupted the flight patterns of many migratory birds. Some of those, such as the penguin-like Razorbill, lost their radar and ended up in Ding Darling, a very southern landing for the birds who do not fly this far.
Wildlife specialists have never seen a Razorbill here on Sanibel, but 19 recently have been brought to wildlife rescues such as C.R.O.W. The black and white waterbirds resembling penguins usually don't travel any farther south than Virginia. Hurricane Sandy disrupted their migration.
While the Razorbills are having their challenges in finding adequate food sources in this tropical wonderland; the special cooperation and diligent attention on the part of Ding Darling and C.R.O.W. is giving them a fighting chance to survive.
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