Who We Are

Wild At Hart is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization founded as a local resource to help wild animals in need, through wildlife rehabilitation, in Muskingum county and surrounding counties in Ohio.

The well-trained team at our facility is experienced in caring for wildlife. We continually participate in continuing education, training, workshops, as well as attend state & national conferences to ensure we are providing the most comprehensive, up-to-date care for wildlife.

We also belong to professional organizations such as The Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, The Ohio Bat Working Group, The Midwest Bat Working Group & other species specific organizations.

Wildlife rehabilitation is defined by the Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation as "the treatment and temporary care of injured, diseased, and displaced indigenous animals, & the subsequent release of healthy animals into appropriate habitats in the wild". 

Simply put, we care for wild animals when they need our help, when orphaned, injured or ill. We then release those animals back into the wild where they belong, as soon as possible & appropriate, so they can fulfill their vital roles in our environment. Wildlife contributes to us daily by being a part of nature's clean up crew, by planting trees & plants, acting as natural pest control for insects, pollinating & protecting our crops & much, much more.

Our mission is to reduce the adverse impact of human-wildlife conflicts locally by providing wildlife rehabilitation and education/outreach programs to our community to bring light to the positive role, benefits of & need for conservation of Ohio's wildlife.

Our goal is to help wildlife whose lives, health & well-being has been negatively affected by humans. We are here to be place of respite, a place of healing & peace, a place of care. We put our hearts & endless hours of time striving to make them whole again, to ensure they are provided with the skills be successful wild creatures so they may find a mate, establish a territory & recognize natural food resources. When they are ready, we return the freedom to these wild animals that they deserve & so desperately crave, to live & breathe the wild air, to feel the sunshine on their backs, to just "be", truly giving them a second chance at a wild life.

  “When we return wild animals to nature, we merely return them to what is already theirs, for man cannot give wild animals freedom, they can only take it away.” ~Jacques Cousteau