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Our Mission

We help wildlife get back home to the wild.

Many wildlife adapt to living in our urban Ottawa environments, but they face many challenges. Mothers are accidentally killed by cars or illegally trapped and relocated, leaving behind orphaned babies. If they lose their mother while they are young and vulnerable, these babies have no hope except for the care we provide.

Porcupine in the grass
IMG 8615 scaled

Get Involved

We would not be able to help so many wildlife without the help of our dedicated team of staff, interns and volunteers. There are many ways to get involved and help wildlife. We have opportunities for summer student employment, full-time internships, Volunteers and co-op and field placements.

Come join our dynamic and diverse team of people from the community with a passion for wildlife and the environment.

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

2 days 11 hours ago

Happy International Bat Day. Enjoy these facts about bats.

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

4 days 2 hours ago

Meet Bruce, a groundhog who came in as an emaciated, balding orphan last season. After taking the proper steps to reintroduce solid foods, he quickly

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

1 week 2 days ago

A throwback to when we had Benny the mink recovering at the sanctuary three years ago. Minks can swim for 3 hours straight and hold

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

1 week 5 days ago

Happy International Beaver Day

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

1 week 6 days ago

RVWS wants to send a special thank you to everyone who has ever donated items from our Wishlist (www.rideauwildlife.org/wishlist/). These items are crucial in allowing

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

2 weeks 2 hours ago

Betty and Binkie came in on a cold rainy morning, severely dehydrated and covered in fleas, after their mom was accidently hit by a car.

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary updated their cover photo.

2 weeks 1 day ago

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

2 weeks 2 days ago

It's Aquatic Animal Day today. Today we are highlighting one of our River otters we had last year. He came in mid August after being

Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

2 weeks 4 days ago

While RVWS didn't come up with our usual April Fools joke this year (sigh, too busy), there were quite a few jokes in Ottawa involving