Wildlife Centers on Long Island
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We are lucky to have varied wildlife and sea-life here too. Animals can find themselves in dangerous or life threatening situations though; that's where wildlife centers step in. These centers are valuable to the community for their work in educating the public and working with animals that need their medical and/or rehabilitation assistance. Some wildlife centers house animals that are unable to go back into the wild while others are strictly there to treat those that are injured.
Visit a wildlife center for the creatures you may see, for the wonderful locations where many of them are located and also to learn more about conservation. Without conservation, many of the natural settings that we love to wander and animals call home may not be there in the future.
🩹 - offers wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services - ** do not bring wildlife without contacting them directly **
Wildlife Centers Open To The Public
Sweet Briar Nature Center 🩹
Sweetbriar Nature Center is a private not-for-profit, 501c3, corporation which exists to provide natural science education services for Long Island residents of all ages and to engage in native wildlife rehabilitation services. Sweetbriar Nature Center is situated on 54 acres of varied garden, woodland, field and wetland habitats on the Nissequogue River. Hundreds of species of plants and animals make homes here.
- Sweet Briar Nature Center is open to the public year round from 9am-4:30pm.
Holtsville Wildlife & Ecology Center
The Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center Animal Preserve has over 100 injured or non-releasable wild animals and farm animals that are available for viewing.
- 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY 11742
Quogue Wildlife Refuge
The Quogue Wildlife Refuge is a 305-acre expanse of protected land, with over seven miles of trails in which you can explore a variety of habitats including Pine Barrens, bogs, wetlands, a field, and a tidal estuary. There is also an Outdoor Wildlife Complex which houses animals that have been injured and would not be able to survive in the wild. Inside the Charles Banks Belt Nature Center you will find a warm and friendly environment where you can observe wildlife through huge windows that overlook Old Ice Pond. A variety of exhibits, turtles, snakes, a touch table, a children’s room, and a sitting area with a beautiful view of the pond can be enjoyed inside of the Nature Center.
- The Refuge trails and Outdoor Wildlife Complex are open every day from sunrise to sunset.
- 3 Old Country Road, Quogue, NY 11959
Tackapausha Museum & Preserve
In the middle of densely populated Seaford on the South Shore, is a historic and beautiful 84-acre sanctuary of oak forests, ponds, streams, small mammals and scores of bird species, all of which can viewed via five miles of clearly marked trails. The preserve incorporates a 3,000-square-foot museum with displays about the ecology of Long Island, as well as animal exhibits and shows and interactive activities for children. Birds of prey, such as a bald eagle and a hawk, small critters like frogs and tarantulas, and nocturnal animals like an opossum and Egyptian bats are examples of the diverse mix of wildlife on exhibit.
- 2225 Washington Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783
Volunteers for Wildlife 🩹
Volunteers for Wildlife, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit Wildlife Hospital & Education Center dedicated to the preservation of Long Island's wildlife & natural habitats through education & rehabilitation since 1982. Each year they accept over 2,000 patients to their Wildlife Hospital who are in need of their care. Their patients are comprised of a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, & amphibians native to Long Island.
- Open to the public * by appointment * - guided meet and greet - take a stroll through the Wildlife Garden with one of their Wildlife Educators and learn all about the incredible Animal Ambassadors that live there, including owls, hawks, a falcon, and an opossum. During your visit, you’ll even get a chance to meet some of them up-close!
Notable Mention - Double D Bar Ranch - the Double D Bar Ranch was set up to provide homes for abandoned and neglected farm animals. - 344 Wading River Rd, Manorville, NY 11949
Wildlife Rescue Centers
These centers are not open to the public to visit animals. They are available for the rescue and rehabilitation of animals only. Click for more wildlife resources
Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center 🩹
The center is a full-time professional wildlife hospital staffed by licensed rehabilitators, biologists, animal behaviorists, and volunteers. It is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation supported by memberships and donations from the private sector. All services are provided to the local community at no cost.
- Visit the website if you have an animal in need or would like to donate
NY Marine Rescue Center 🩹
Founded in 1996, the New York Marine Rescue Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which relies on public donations to help support the various efforts which include response and rehabilitation of marine mammals and sea turtles as well as community outreach and educational programs.
- Visit the website if you have an animal in need or would like to donate
- Stranding hotline - (631) 369-9829
Save the Animals Rescue Foundation 🩹
STAR Foundation is an LI non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer organization, dedicated to the welfare of domestic and wild animals. Their goal is to provide a safe haven for every injured or orphaned Long Island animal in need of medical care, rehabilitation, or humane euthanasia, and to return as many healthy animals as possible to their natural habitat.
- Visit the website if you have an animal in need or would like to donate
Zoos and Aquariums
Long Island Game Farm
Long Island's largest wildlife park and children's zoo. The LI Game Farm offers families a natural environment where they can learn about wildlife and animal conservation through observation, education, and entertainment.
Long Island Aquarium
Themed around the Lost City of Atlantis, Long Island Aquarium blends science and nature with myth to create an informative and entertaining environment for visitors of all ages. This FINtastic destination features one of the largest all-living coral reef displays in this hemisphere, a 120,000-gallon shark habitat, year-round sea lion shows, African Penguins, Marmosets, numerous touch pools and more than 100 exhibits including the lavish indoor gardens of our Butterflies, Bugs & Bees!
CSH Fish Hatchery & Aquarium
Its mission is to operate as an environmental education center and public aquarium that continues to raise and stock trout. The Fish Hatchery is proud to have the largest living collection of New York State freshwater reptiles, fishes and amphibians. Visitors can tour two aquarium buildings and eight outdoor ponds, feed the hungry trout, and try the “Catch & Keep” fishing.
* Holtsville Ecology Center from above is also known as the Holtsville Zoo
More Conservation Efforts
Seatuck Environmental Association - Seatuck Environmental Association is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to conserving Long Island wildlife and the environment.
North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary - The mission of the Sanctuary, as stated in the By-Laws, is "to preserve or to aid in the preservation of all types of wild nature, including natural areas, flora and fauna, and biotic communities; to establish nature reserves to be used for scientific, educational, and aesthetic purposes; to promote education in the fields of nature preservation and conservation."The North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary, Inc. is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York under section 501(c)-3 on January 7, 1963.
Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center - a home for discovery and exploration. Managed by Audubon New York, the center was established in 1923 as the country’s first National Audubon Society songbird sanctuary. The Mission of the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center is to connect people with nature while promoting a sense of environmental stewardship through natural science educational programs. The National Audubon Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
Annual Wildlife Events
Some of our LI Nature Center's have resident groundhogs who are annually asked if we will have 6 more weeks of winter...
Annually events for our resident Groundhogs
Holtsville Hal, Malverne Mel, Allen McButterpants, Sam Champion (Sam Champion is seen at the Quogue Library annually) for Groundhog Day
Honorable mention - Niblet & Sweet Briar Sam.