Operation Wildlife in Linwood housing animals due to flooding

LINWOOD, Kan. — After storms ripped through the Midwest this week, habitats for wild animals have been damaged and even destroyed.

A lot of the injured animals end up at Operation Wildlife, in Linwood, where they’re busy with lots of different species.

“So, think of it this way. High winds hurt anything that’s in a tree, birds, squirrels, raccoons,” said founder and director, Diane Johnson. “Anything on the ground, groundhogs, cotton tails, possums, you know, anything that can get flooded out [comes here].”

“We’ve taken in 159 animals in 72 hours,” Johnson continued. “And I’ve worked 39 of those. So, yes, I’m tired,” she laughed. The center is only equipped, staffed, and funded to support around 3000 animals per year, and they were not expecting 159 of them to show up at once. “If we have another big day like this, it’s not sustainable for us. We’re not equipped. We don’t have the space for those kind of incoming animals.”

Johnson said volunteers are stretching their days to 12 or 13 hours. She says that she’s receiving more than 50 calls per day about more injured animals.

“And we’re not budgeted for that. You know, our budget is monthly. Our budget is whatever people give us, donate to us,” she said. “We’re not government funded.”

According to Johnson, animals that they treat cost hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

The center is asking for any help while they spend 6 to 8 weeks rehabilitating the injured animals. They have an Amazon Wishlist where they have specific items that anyone can purchase , and Amazon will send it straight to Operation Wildlife. All donations will go towards the injured animals rehabilitation .

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