Think Wild's mission is to inspire the high desert community to care for and protect native wildlife through education, conservation, rescue, and rehabilitation.
Think Wild is a 501(c) non-profit organization based in Bend, Oregon that was founded in 2016. Think Wild's Wildlife Hospital and Conservation Center opened in 2020 to provide medical care for injured and orphaned native wildlife from Central and parts of Eastern Oregon.
Our facility is permitted through the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but we do not receive government funding for wildlife hospital operations and are funded through private donations and grants.
Think Wild's main programs include:
• Wildlife Hospital - rescue and rehabilitation of injured/orphaned wildlife
• Wildlife Hotline - answer wildlife-related questions and respond to cases of injured and orphaned wildlife
• Think Wild Education- workshops, events and programming for local schools, businesses, organizations and the public
• Wildlife Habitat and Conflict Services - humane wildlife conflict mitigation and wildlife-friendly property installations and advising
• Beaver Works Oregon- supporting beaver on our Oregon High Desert landscape
THINK WILD'S VISION FOR OUR COMMUNITY
Think Wild's vision is a high desert community that prioritizes native wildlife protection and conservation. We aim to be:
- Central Oregon's dedicated wildlife hospital to treat and rehabilitate native wildlife – providing species-specific care, reuniting, and fostering for animals that become orphaned or injured so they can be successfully released back to the wild.
- The go-to community resource regarding local wildlife concerns and questions.
- A voice for native wildlife to strengthen advocacy for conservation – applying what we have learned from years of wildlife care to inform the community on man-made hazards in our growing, urban landscape, and advising on local and regional policies to reduce threats to wildlife.
- An education hub to teach and inspire the public to live respectfully with urban wildlife – responding to thousands of annual inquiries regarding orphaned or injured wildlife, and offering Think Wild Education, including online resources.
OUR VALUES
• Focus on prevention through education
• Foster respectful, productive partnerships with regulating agencies, non-profits, and private and public landholders in the region
• Provide humane and natural history-based care that exceeds regulating agency requirements and national averages
• Commitment to goal of releasing each viable animal back into the wild
• Maintain an efficient operating budget with substantial allocation dedicated to program support
• Be transparent in everything we do
Watch "Bridging the Gap," by Elif Koyuturk, an Award Winning Short Film about Think Wild
Official Selection & Award Winner at the 2022 Bend Film Festival, Los Angeles Independent Women Awards, Berlin International Art Film Festival, San Diego Art Film Fest, and Festival Internacional de Imagem de Natureza by Nat Geo Portugal.