Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

If you’re looking for a great way to get the kids off their electronics and introduce them to native Florida wildlife, look no further than the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary is a non-profit organization that seeks to protect and conserve Florida’s wildlife and natural resources. It functions as a wildlife hospital for animals brought in with injuries. A majority of these injuries are from man-made causes and they treat almost 5,000 wild animals a year!

However, they aren’t just a wildlife hospital. Along with their rehabilitation efforts, the Sanctuary is open to the public Monday-Saturday from 10AM-4:30PM and offers many educational programs for children and adults.

Families can walk around the Sanctuary’s nature trails that include cypress wetlands, oak hammocks, and pine flatwoods. On these trails, you can find the non-releasable wild animals like bobcats, foxes, otters, alligators, panthers, bears, deer, and many more. One of our favorites was Stewie, their adorable Whistling Duck. These animals were previously patients of the wildlife hospital with injuries too severe to let them return to the wild.

While seeing the animals is fun for kids, it is also important for them to learn about the wildlife that they share the state with. The Sanctuary’s indoor Discovery Center provides an informational and interactive area where kids and adults can learn more about Florida’s environment and animals.

Busch Wildlife’s vision is to Rescue, Rehab, Release, and Educate. They want to help injured wildlife return to their homes and educate the community about Florida’s native animals and how to keep them and US safe.

Recently, Busch Wildlife has been making an effort to partner with businesses in the community on events to increase awareness of their mission. Follow along with the Jupiter Family Fun events calendar to see when the next one is!