Nebraska Wildlife Rehab

At Nebraska Wildlife Rehab (NWR), Our Mission is to:

• Rehabilitate native Nebraska wildlife and migratory birds for return to the wild.
• Preserve and restore native habitats.
• Educate youth and adults about the importance of wildlife and ecosystems by engaging them in projects and activities that contribute to the well-being of our natural environment and inspire them to take action to protect it.
• Support and collaborate with others engaged in similar projects and activities.

Since 1999, NWR has worked to save wildlife throughout the state of Nebraska. Operating under permits from the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, our goal is to return wildlife to the wild and to use our work to educate the public about how to co-exist with native wildlife.

 

Saving Wildlife

Nebraska Wildlife Rehab:

•  Rescues more than 7,000 wild animals from across the state of Nebraska each year.

• Handles more than 12,000 inquiries from the public annually.
• Is the wildlife partner for the Nebraska Humane Society and other animal control agencies throughout the state, offering training for staff and rescuing wild animals brought to those organizations.

 

Advancing Wildlife Medicine

At Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, we have the best-equipped wildlife hospital in the U.S. With critical tools like digital radiography, CT, endoscopy, ultrasound, surgical suite, and an extensive laboratory, we are able to provide advanced diagnostics and care to our native wildlife. With these tools, we have a responsibility to advance wildlife medicine and to collaborate with researchers to contribute to knowledge of the natural history of wildlife and zoonotic diseases.

NWR provides ongoing three- to six- week veterinary student externships for students in their clinical rotation year. These rotations allow students to explore a field of medicine that is not intensively covered in regular veterinary school curriculum and to launch careers in wildlife, conservation, or zoological medicine and even in public health.

NWR also offers a one-year Wildlife Medicine Internship for one veterinarian each year, with a candidate selected through the veterinary match system.

In 2026, NWR will be collaborating with the Omaha Zoo on their new Veterinary Residency program to provide a broader education in exotic animal medicine to this three-year position.

Research Collaborations

NWR is currently collaborating with the following institutions on research projects in wildlife and public health:

Research Collaborations

NWR is currently collaborating with the following institutions on research projects in wildlife and public health:

At NWR, education is the cornerstone of everything we do, from wildlife rehabilitation to research.   Our flagship programs include:

High School Science Academy (HSSA)

Started by NWR in 2015, this program brings university-level biology topics to students, giving them hands-on field experience and promoting career-literacy and connections. With an academic year cohort and a summer cohort, this program exposes Omaha-area students to learning opportunities and field work throughout the state.  Aimed to reduce inequality in opportunity, HSSA accepts students to the program based on merit and recommendation, regardless of their opportunity to pay, and ensures transportation is provided if needed.

Collective for Youth

For more than 14 years, NWR has collaborated with Collective for Youth to bring after-school programs on wildlife and conservation to students in area middle and elementary schools.  Meeting once a week during the academic year, students explore topics in animal classification and adaptations, environmental stewardship, and careers in biology.

University Internships

Since 2012, NWR has been offering summer internships in wildlife rehabilitation and conservation to college students, giving them hands-on experience in wildlife handling, husbandry, medicine, and education. Since then, this program has expanded to seasonal opportunities year-round and in 2024 became a fully paid position, expanding the number of students who are able to take advantage of this opportunity.

On-Demand Programming and Collaborations

NWR’s Education Director and other staff members work with the community and our collaborators to bring a variety of topics on native wildlife and conservation to the public.   We present more than 50 additional programs annually.

Collaborating on Research

Research is vital to advancing our knowledge of wildlife medical care and husbandry. It is also critical to public health.

In-house Research

NWR engages in data collection and in-house research.  Current studies include coagulation in Virginia opossums and gut microbiome and nutrition in eastern fox squirrels. These projects have implications for the care of these species across the U.S.  

Research Collaborations

NWR is currently collaborating with the several university and government institutions on research projects in wildlife and public health.