Hope Swinimer rescues wildlife. It’s something that she has been doing day after day since 1995. In 1997, she opened Hope for Wildlife, an animal rehabilitation centre in Seaforth, Nova Scotia.
The centre works with animals based on three Rs: rescue, rehabilitation, and release. It takes animals that are injured or in distress and helps them get back on their feet and back in nature, which is exactly where they belong!
And on top of that, you can add two more Rs to Hope for Wildlife's worklist. The centre does research with all the animals that come through its doors, allowing people to learn vital scientific information. They are able to learn about behaviour, , and the best treatment and medicines for hundreds of species. And finally, R stands for “reaching” people, especially young people! Hope for Wildlife wants to help educate kids about the importance of wild and habitats.
Swinimer’s story is a remarkable one—it is all about a love of animals and a desire to do good. And now, her story is the subject of a brand-new book called She is Hope for Wildlife: The Story of Wildlife Rescuer Hope Swinimer. We got our excited hands on a copy and gave it to News-O-Matic and OWL reader Catalina so she could give it a read. Here is Catalina’s review:
She is Hope for Wildlife was a very beautiful book about a woman named Hope. Hope really wanted to take care of animals. She loved rescuing them! She took care of many different animals like birds, fawns, skunks, mice, and more. What I liked most about this story is how Hope and kept fighting for her dream. I really enjoyed reading this book and I also learned a lot while reading. I learned to never give up on your dream and I also learned how important wildlife is. I highly recommend this book. I hope other people read it because it was really good!
That is some high praise from Catalina! And we’re not surprised she loved the book because Hope Swinimer (HS) really is an inspiring person. News-O-Matic (NOM) got the opportunity to speak with this wildlife hero and we hope that you enjoy our conversation!
NOM: What is Hope for Wildlife all about?
HS: Our mission is to reconnect people with their natural world. A lot of the work that we do is with young people. We spend an incredible amount of time in the classroom. We have three goals: rehabilitation, research, and education. They’re all equally important! But education is what will bring about the most change in the future. So we have groups out in classrooms, we do kids camps, and we also have people come with their families. It’s all about teaching: How do we get animals in at Hope for Wildlife? How did they get injured and did humans cause it? And what can we do to help prevent it from happening? I love what we do.
NOM: You’ve helped tens of thousands of animals—are there animal species you see more than others?
HS: It’s mainly birds and mammals that we help, but we do get some reptiles and amphibians, too. We usually help about 7,500 animals a year. But get around 250 different species. We get everything from seal pups to turtles to owls to songbirds, minks, bobcats, white-tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels. Basically any indigenous wildlife from Nova Scotia can come through our doors.
NOM: What kinds of issues bring animals through your doors?
HS: Yes, it is so important that we think about that. It can be stuff like, there’s a raccoon trapped in my attic, or I just admitted a songbird that was bitten by a cat. We also get lots of birds that have struck windows, and animals hit by cars is probably the number one reason. And also after big weather events we get injured animals in. It can be just about any reason you can think of.
NOM: How do animals get to your centre?
HS: We have around 250 people who work on our
team. They live all over Nova Scotia. So when a call comes in about an animal in need, one of them can say, “Oh! That’s close to where I live.” Then they can get that animal in for medical care.
NOM: Is there a species that you get that really surprises you?
HS: Yes, sometimes! We’ve had pelicans a few times—they are not native to Nova Scotia. And we have odd situations sometimes, too. A couple times we’ve had raccoons brought in that have these round wire bird feeders stuck on their head!
NOM: You’ve been doing this for almost 30 years now. Do you feel confident in your ability to help pretty much every species that you receive?
HS: We’ve gotten really good at helping all these species over the years, but when we started, we didn’t have this knowledge base. We didn’t know that giving oral medicine to a white-tailed deer isn’t going to work because they have such a complicated and long
. By the time the medicine reaches where it’s supposed to be in the body, it has travelled through three stomachs and has stopped working. We didn’t know the proper medicine to give a porcupine, or how to fix a turtle’s shell. What we’ve learned over the last thirty years is what is fascinating.
NOM: It really sounds like a special place.
HS: We have such an amazing team now. On my own, I never could have accomplished a fiftieth of what we’ve done here. We have vets here, we have biologists, we have scientists, whatever the problem is, we have someone in the know that can help. We also have to say goodbye to lots of people, which is sad! Many young people study with us—they are with us for a little while and then they’re on their way! But hopefully what they learned about their natural world will stay with them and make a difference.
She is Hope for Wildlife: The Story of Wildlife Rescuer Hope Swinimer is available now through Nimbus Publishing.
By John Crossingham
Updated November 1, 2024, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
