Lindsay Wildlife Experience facts for kids

The logo for Lindsay Wildlife Experience

A close-up photograph of Bubo, Lindsay's resident great horned owl

The Lindsay Wildlife Experience is a special place in Walnut Creek, California. It's a family museum and a wildlife rehabilitation center. This means it's a fun museum where you can learn about animals, and it's also a hospital for wild animals that are hurt or sick. Lindsay was the very first wildlife hospital ever started in the United States! It's a popular spot for families in the San Francisco East Bay Area.

The center opened in Walnut Creek in 1955. Its main goal is to help people connect with wildlife. They want to inspire everyone to be responsible and respectful of the natural world we all share. At the museum, you can see many California wildlife exhibits. There are also displays of natural history items. You can even watch a live look into one of the hospital's treatment rooms. The wildlife hospital is still one of the biggest in the country. It helps over 5,000 injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals every year.

A Look at Lindsay's History

The Lindsay Wildlife Museum started in 1955. It was first called the Diablo Junior Museum. It was founded by a person named Alexander Lindsay. After he passed away in 1962, the museum was renamed the Alexander Lindsay Junior Museum in his honor.

In 1965, the museum moved to a water-pump house in Larkey Park. This park is also in Walnut Creek. A big step happened in 1970. The museum began the first official wildlife rehabilitation program in the United States. This means they were the first to have a proper system for helping wild animals get better.

In 1986, the museum became its own independent group. It was no longer run by the city. The next year, they dropped "Junior" from the name, calling it the Lindsay Museum. In 1993, the museum moved again. It went into a brand new building that was much larger. Three years later, its name changed to Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

In recent years, the museum has added many cool new exhibits. One is called "Wildlife Hospital Behind the Scenes." Here, you can watch a live animal procedure through a special window. Another exhibit, "Raptors," lets you pretend to fly over Mount Diablo. You can also compare your arm span to the wingspan of large birds of prey.

At "Hive Alive!" and "Hive to Honey," you can see thousands of live bees and their queen. You'll learn about the different jobs bees do in their hive. In 2013, a new exhibit called "The Burrow" opened. It lets visitors go "underground" to explore the hidden world of animals beneath our feet. Finally, in 2015, the museum changed its name to Lindsay Wildlife Experience.

The Wildlife Hospital

A North American beaver returning to the wild after being successfully rehabilitated at Lindsay Wildlife Hospital

The wildlife hospital at Lindsay helps many animals. Each year, it takes in over 5,000 wild animals native to California. This hospital was a pioneer in wildlife care. Many of the ways animals are treated today were first developed here.

The hospital staff and volunteers help animals that are hurt. This includes animals that have been poisoned or hit by cars. They also help those that fall from trees during trimming. Many injuries are caused by human activities. They also care for young animals that have lost their parents. Some young animals stay at the hospital. Others are cared for at the homes of special volunteers.

Once an animal is healthy, it is released back into the wild. If an animal cannot safely go back to the wild, it might stay at the museum. These animals become "animal ambassadors." They help teach people about wildlife. Many animals brought to the hospital are caught by cats. Because of this, the museum asks people to keep their cats indoors. This helps protect wild animals.

Meet the Animal Ambassadors

Penelope, Lindsay Wildlife Experience's resident North American porcupine

The Lindsay Wildlife Experience is very good at caring for animals that cannot return to the wild. About 70 animals live at Lindsay Wildlife. Almost all of them have a physical, mental, or behavior problem. These problems would make it hard for them to survive on their own.

All the animals living at Lindsay Wildlife are animal ambassadors. They help teach the public about protecting nature and learning about natural history. Some of these animals can be seen by visitors. Others live behind the scenes. They are brought out for special presentations, classes, tours, and private meetings.

Here are some of the animal ambassadors you might meet:

Amphibians

• California tiger salamander

Birds

• Acorn woodpecker
• American kestrel
• Bald eagle
• Band-tailed pigeon
• Barn owl
• Barred owl
• Golden eagle
• Great grey owl
• Great horned owl
• Greater roadrunner
• Harris's hawk
• Mourning dove
• Peregrine falcon
• Red-shouldered hawk
• Red-tailed hawk
• Swainson's hawk
• Turkey vulture
• Western screech owl
• White-tailed kite

Mammals

• Domestic rabbit
• Domestic rat
• Ground squirrel
• Guinea pig
• Mexican free-tailed bat
• North American porcupine
• Virginia opossum

Reptiles

• Aquatic garter snake
• California kingsnake
• California mountain kingsnake
• Common chuckwalla
• Desert iguana
• Pacific gopher snake
• Northern alligator lizard
• Southern alligator lizard
• Western pond turtle

Invertebrates

• Banana slug
• Black widow spider
• Cactus longhorn beetle
• Chilean rose tarantula
• Desert blond tarantula
• Desert hairy scorpion
• Desert millipede
• Madagascar hissing cockroach
• Wolf spider