Center for Wildlife Education | Georgia Southern University

Current News

Wildlife Center Newsletters:

If you are interested in receiving an electronic copy of the the Wildlife Center's newsletter each month please send an email to wildlife@georgiasouthern.edu with the word NEWSLETTER in the subject line.

Wildlife Center Summer Schedule

(June, July & August 2011)

Open Monday - Friday ONLY, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

It is summertime at the Wildlife Center and things are definitely heating up. When the summer temperatures and humidity become unbearable for us humans it is also dangerous for our animals. The Wildlife Center birds will be removed from their displays along the Nature Walkway when temperatures reach the danger point. When the birds are not on display, visitors will be given the opportunity to participate in a Behind the Scenes tour of the Center at the following times...11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.

Each day (Monday - Friday) at 3:30 p.m. a special 30-minute themed wildlife program will be presented in the Wildlife Center's lecture hall.

The themed programs are:

Monday - Native Habitats
Tuesday - Exotics and Non-natives
Wednesday - Animal Trivia
Thursday - Native Habitats
Friday - Raptors

All weekday special programs and Behind the Scenes tours are free with the price of admission. For more information please contact the Wildlife Center at 912-478-0831.

August 19, 2010

Wildlife Center unveils a new logo!!

Thanks to Ryan Honeyman, Assistant Director of Georgia Southern University Marketing and Communications, the Center for Wildlife Education has a new logo!!

After thirteen years in operation it was time for the Wildlife Center to explore the idea of creating an updated image, one that would appropriately portray the Wildlife Center as an ambassador for Georgia Southern and a champion for the environment, and also highlight the Ball family namesake, Lamar Q Ball, Jr. The first place to start was a new logo.

We challenged Ryan with designing a unique logo that would appeal to a broad market, children and adults, corporations and schools. The logo needed to be contemporary, fun, businesslike, original and easily recognizable...but not too modern or commercial!!

Ryan met the challenge head-on and did us proud. We are thrilled to unveil one version of new logo on the sign in front of the Wildlife Center.

May 12, 2010

Back from the Battlefront: Sgt. Scott Courdin

Scott Courdin rushed back to work after returning from a year long deployment to Afghanistan. Some would say he "flew" back. He works with birds of prey at the Georgia Southern University Wildlife Center. He joined the 48th Brigade six years ago in time for the training to deploy to Iraq. "Deploying was the reason for joining. You don't join the football team unless you want to play, not just practice," he explained.

He said returning to work with the birds has been one of the easiest parts of the transition from working with and training Afghani police.

"It takes time, something I actually have to concentrate on sometimes and realize I'm not in Afghanistan. I don't have to be jumpy or aggressive. In home life, readjusting to me and my wife making decisions," he noted. He's already comfortable enough now to stand in front of large groups here at home and work with his animals. That openness cuts across the grain of heightened alert he's seen the past year. "In Afghanistan, you do a lot of foot patrols. There were places where you didn't want people approaching you because of suicide vests, things like that. You were constantly watching people's faces, watching their eyes trying to determine what they were thinking," he described.

He said the challenges of his return from the first deployment years ago made him pay more attention to counselor's advice this time. "We went through those courses and were thinking 'who cares, who cares, who cares, let us go home, let us go home'. Six months later, when we were back at drill, we were talking and saying 'everything they said would happen had happened'. So I was able to tell some of the younger guys on their first deployment 'listen up, this stuff is gonna happen' because I'd felt it," he stated.

This fall, he'll return to the top of Paulson Stadium on Saturdays to release a bald eagle before Georgia Southern football games. The job and the crowds weren't as easy months after his first deployment. "All the motion, people moving all over the place in every direction all around you. It was odd, wouldn't necessarily say stressful, but odd," he said with a slight chuckle.

Despite all the adjustments, he's thankful to a supportive wife and family and community that allow him the time and freedom to put on the uniform and go where he's sent. "There is a certain amount of pride in what we do and how we do it. It's a good feeling to serve in the military," he contended.

April 9th, 2010

Engagement at the Wildlife Center

Dr. Jeff Edgens and Janie Evans are frequent visitors to the Center for Wildlife Education. Dr. Edgens holds a doctorate in environmental policy and is a full time assistant professor at East Georgia College, on the Georgia Southern University campus, teaching American Government. Ms. Evans is an adjunct teacher for East Georgia College, also on the Georgia Southern campus, and works weekends at the Henderson Library. They love the Wildlife Center, and consider it a peaceful and quiet place to visit. One of Janie's favorite spots is the duck pond in the Wetland Preserve. She enjoys watching the ducks swim and chase each other around the pond. On January 29th, however, the Wetland Preserve became a place she will always hold dear to her heart. It was on one of the observation decks, overlooking the duck pond, that Dr. Edgens dropped to his knee and asked her to marry him. With ducks swimming up to the deck, as if wanting to be the first to hear her say yes, she agreed. All of us at the Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center want to be the first to say congratulations and we wish them a lifetime of happiness. Jeff and Janie's engagement is the first for the Raptor Center!

May 13, 2010

Wildlife Center After Dark: "WakeUp Wildlife"

On Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Georgia Southern University's Center for Wildlife Education will host its annual Spring Center After Dark event. This years' theme is "WakeUp Wildlife" and is a hibernation celebration to welcome back Spring and all the animals waking up from their long winters' nap!!!

The "WakeUp Wildlife" evening will feature children's activities and games in addition to the viewing of the film, Life in Cold Blood, with its award-winning cinematographer David Wright. Life in Cold Blood is a nature documentary about strange and exotic cold-blooded animals from around the world. Wright's work as a natural history photographer and film maker has been featured on the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel and the BBC. Wright will be on hand to talk about his adventures shooting the film and the cold blooded creatures he features in it. The film will be shown on a big screen outdoors in the Wetland Preserve area. Admission for the entire event is $2 for adults and $1 for children age 3-11, while children under the age of 3 will be admitted free of charge. Each child that brings a teddy bear to be donated to Prevent Child Abuse Bulloch County will also be admitted free of charge. While baked goods and soft drinks will be available for purchase, families may also bring a picnic to enjoy in the Center's new Wetland Preserve area.

The Wildlife Center's After Dark event will also kick-off National Wildlife Education Week, March 15-21, 2010, sponsored by The National Wildlife Federation. The special week is held annually to encourage parents to allow their kids to learn, explore, discover and imagine outdoor things surrounded by a world of green. For more information on National Wildlife Week visit the National Wildlife Federation's website at nwf.org.

January 16-18, 2010

For the 7th year the School of Veterinary Medicine from the University of GA spent MLK weekend inspecting the health and well-being of the Wildlife Center's extensive collection of raptors, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. The partnership is a mutually beneficial agreement between Georgia Southern University and the University of Georgia, providing practical hands-on, real life experiences for the UGA vet students, and a chance for the Wildlife Center staff to be introduced to methods of raptor and reptile health and disease.

Animals are anesthesized for the safety of the handlers, veterinarians, and the animals themselves. The animals are physically examined and weighed, and fecal and blood samples are collected and tested. The testing and evaluations provide advisement on the maintenance and welfare of the Center's collection as well as increasing exotic interns and veterinary students exposure to raptors, reptiles, and amphibians. Dr. Stephen Divers, Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine at the University of Georgia comments "this years' examinations went without a hitch and this was in no small part due to the efforts of the Wildlife Center staff". Fortunately, no major issues were found with any of the collection and the animals are in good health.

Welcome to Our New Arrivals!

August 25, 2009

The Georgia Southern Wildlife Center and Lamar Q Ball Raptor Center are proud to announce a whole troupe of new arrivals! We are very fortunate to have recently taken on several new birds and we have some bright new faces joining the Center for this Fall.

New Birds:

Meet Dudley. Dudley is a juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk, a raptor commonly seen in southeast Georgia. Dudley was found as a fledgling after falling from the nest. He suffered a broken clavicle and a punctured eye and was taken in by a rehabilitation center. While there, he was nursed back to health and given time for his bone and eye to heal. It was hoped that he would fully recover and could be released into the wild. The broken clavicle mended well, however, his eye was never the same. The puncture caused irreparable damage, and it's estimated that now his vision is only at 20% of normal for that eye, which prevents him being re-released. Our curator recently arranged with his rehabbers to house him here, where he can be cared for in a safe environment while allowing them the space to accept another injured animal. Dudley is a real cutie and quite inquisitive, and is currently undergoing training to join us in our flight shows. This will allow him a great chance for stimulation and exercise. He's a quick learner and a real charmer, our staff is truly in love with this bird and we hope you'll adore him as well!

Also new to the center are a whole troupe of new wading birds. We have recently acquired several juvenile Black Crowned Night Herons and Little Green Herons, a trio of each! These birds have all unfortunately suffered wing injuries which did not heal properly, a common problem in birds. They are currently being acclimated to their new surroundings and will be released into the Wetland Preserve over the next month or so. They'll be joining our Wood Stork, Great Blue Heron and Little Blue Heron, which was released recently. Keep an eye out during your visit for these gorgeous birds, since they are free roaming you never know where you might find them!

April 15, 2009

Georgia Southern University’s Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center To Open New Addition: Grand Opening Event Offers Tours and Activities For All Ages

STATESBORO, Ga. — April 15, 2009 — Georgia Southern University’s Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center will celebrate the Grand Opening of the Center’s Wetland Preserve with an afternoon of festivities from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009. The event is free and open to the public.

The Wetland Preserve is a 12-acre expansion of the Center that includes a small pond and capture basin that houses a beaver lodge, a cypress pond that will be home to a variety of wading birds like herons and egrets, and a waterfowl pond. The Center is located on Forest Drive in the heart of the Georgia Southern University campus.

"This expansion means we now have seventeen acres which is very large when you think of a university center, especially one that sits right in the middle of campus. I think the expansion raises not only the Center but the University to a higher level. This truly makes this a preeminent environmental center not only within the state but within the southeast," said Center director Steve Hein.

Grand Opening events include Behind the Scene tours at 3:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m., an Outdoor Classroom Wildlife Program at 5:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., and a lecture and tour of the new indoor Frog Exhibit hosted by John Jensen at 4:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. A Wetland Preserve Tour and Feed the Ducks activity at the waterfowl pond will take place at 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Other activities include crafts, scavenger hunts, geocaching and wetland conservation experiments in the new Outdoor Classroom.

"While visitors will now have the chance to see even more species of wildlife at the Center, the real function and purpose behind the expansion and the creation of the Wetland Preserve is to educate visitors about water and the impact it has on all life. Visitors will see firsthand how water�or the lack of it�affects ecosystems and the dramatic impact it has on the wildlife who live in those ecosystems," said Hein.

Maintaining the Center and caring for the expanded collection will be aided by a new, modest admission fee. Beginning April 27, 2009 adult admission will be $2. Admission for children age 3-11, active military with I.D. and senior citizens will be $1. Admission will remain free for children under 3 and University faculty, staff and students (all with I.D.). Annual, unlimited admission passes are now available. The passes are $8 for adults and $6 for children ages 3-11, active military with I.D. and senior citizens. All admission fees exclude special event fees and field trip fees.

Special note to the media: A private V.I.P. ribbon cutting, tour and reception will be held at the Center beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Carol Couch who is president of the Georgia Environmental Protection Agency. You are invited to attend this event as well as the rest of the afternoon’s activities. When you arrive at the lobby of the Center, you will be directed to the appropriate location on-site for the ribbon cutting.