Lindsay Wildlife Experience, formerly known as Lindsay Wildlife Museum, is a family museum and

wildlife rehabilitation Wildlife rehabilitation is the treatment and care of injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals so that they can be released back to the wild. Process Rehabilitation begins when an animal is found and reported to a wildlife rehabilitator, or seize ...

center in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...

. Lindsay is the first wildlife hospital established in the United States, and a popular family museum in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

East Bay Area The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

. Founded in Walnut Creek in 1955, the museum's programs "connect people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share." The museum features a number of California wildlife exhibits, natural history specimens, and a special theater offering a look into one of the hospital's many wildlife treatment rooms. The rehabilitation center—still among the largest in the country—treats more than 5,000 injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals each year.

History

Lindsay Wildlife Museum was founded in 1955 by Alexander Lindsay as the Diablo Junior Museum. It became the Alexander Lindsay Junior Museum in 1962 after Alexander Lindsay died at 44. In 1965 it moved to a water-pump house in Larkey Park in

Walnut Creek A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bo ...

. In 1970 the museum started the first formal

program in the United States. In 1986 the City of Walnut Creek ended operations and the museum became an independently operated not-for-profit organization. The next year "Junior" was dropped from the title, making it the Lindsay Museum. In 1993 the museum moved to a newly built museum near the old pump house. Three years later the name was changed to Lindsay Wildlife Museum. In recent years, the museum has added a number of major new exhibits. Wildlife Hospital Behind the Scenes lets visitors watch a live veterinary procedure at the hospital through a large, one-way window. At Raptors visitors can soar virtually over Mount Diablo and measure their armspan against raptors' wingspans. At Hive Alive! and Hive to Honey~Honey Bees and Beekeepers at Work visitors can watch thousands of live bees and their queen and learn what jobs different bees do. In fall 2013, the museum opened the new exhibit The Burrow where visitors can go "underground" to discover the world of wildlife beneath their feet. The museum changed its name to Lindsay Wildlife Experience in 2015.

Hospital

The wildlife rehabilitation hospital at the museum receives more than 5,000 California native wild animal patients every year. The hospital is a pioneer in wildlife rehabilitation and many now-standard protocols across the country were developed here. Hospital staff and volunteers treat animals that have been poisoned, struck by automobiles, fallen from trees during trimming, and injured by other often human-related activities. They also care for orphaned young, both onsite and at the homes of specially trained volunteers. After being treated, an animal is released back into the wild. If it cannot be safely released, it may join the museum as a resident "animal ambassador". As many animals brought to the hospital are cat-caught, the museum strongly encourages visitors to keep their cats indoors.

Animal ambassadors

Lindsay Wildlife Experience specializes in the care of animals unable to return to the wild. Of the 70 animals that call Lindsay Wildlife home, nearly all of them have a physical, psychological, or behavioral problem that would make them unable to survive in the wild. All of the animals that live at Lindsay Wildlife Experience serve as animal ambassadors and educate the public on conservation and natural history. Some animals are on view to the public; others live off-exhibit and are brought out for presentations, classes, tours, and private animal encounters.

Amphibians

California tiger salamander The California tiger salamander (''Ambystoma californiense'') is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander (''A. tigrinum)'', the California tiger sal ...

Birds

Acorn woodpecker The acorn woodpecker (''Melanerpes formicivorus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker, long, with an average weight of . Taxonomy The acorn woodpecker was formally described in 1827 by the English naturalist William John Swainson under the binomi ...

American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...

* Bald eagle *

Band-tailed pigeon The band-tailed pigeon (''Patagioenas fasciata'') is a medium-sized bird of the Americas. Its closest relatives are the Chilean pigeon and the ring-tailed pigeon, which form a clade of ''Patagioenas'' with a terminal tail band and iridescent p ...

* Barn owl *

Barred owl The barred owl (''Strix varia''), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus '' Strix'', whic ...

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

Great grey owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in th ...

Great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...

Greater roadrunner The greater roadrunner (''Geococcyx californianus'') is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along w ...

Harris's hawk The Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south ...

Mourning dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Caroli ...

* Peregrine falcon *

Red-shouldered hawk The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...

Red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

Swainson's hawk Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni'') is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond ...

Turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...

Western screech owl The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott. Description Length ...

White-tailed kite The white-tailed kite (''Elanus leucurus'') is a small raptor found in western North America and parts of South America. It replaces the related Old World black-winged kite in its native range. Taxonomy The white-tailed kite was described in ...

Mammals

* Domestic rabbit *

Domestic rat The fancy rat (''Rattus norvegicus domestica'') is the domesticated form of ''Rattus norvegicus'', the brown rat, and the most common species of rat kept as a pet. The name ''fancy rat'' derives from the use of the noun '' fancy'' for a hobby, ...

Ground squirrel Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents ( Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...

Guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

Mexican free-tailed bat The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat (''Tadarida brasiliensis'') is a medium-sized bat native to the Americas, so named because its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to its uropatagium. It has been ...

North American porcupine The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America, after the North American beaver ('' ...

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United S ...

Reptiles

* Aquatic garter snake *

California kingsnake The California kingsnake (''Lampropeltis californiae'') is a nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats. Due to ease of care and a wide range of color variations, the ...

California mountain kingsnake The California mountain kingsnake (''Lampropeltis zonata'') is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake that is endemic to North America. It is a coral snake mimic, having a similar pattern consisting of red, black, and yellow on its body, but the ...

Common chuckwalla ''Sauromalus ater'', also known as the common chuckwalla, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It inhabits the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends from eastern Ca ...

Desert iguana The desert iguana (''Dipsosaurus dorsalis'') is an iguana species found in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, as well as on several Gulf of California islands. Taxonomy The species was ...

Pacific gopher snake The Pacific gopher snake (''Pituophis catenifer catenifer'') is a subspecies of large non-venomous colubrid snake native to the western coast of North America. Description Pacific gopher snake adults range in size from 3–7 feet (91–213 ...

Northern alligator lizard The northern alligator lizard (''Elgaria coerulea'') is a species of medium-sized lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to the North American west coast. Taxonomy The northern alligator lizard was formerly known by the scientific ...

Southern alligator lizard The southern alligator lizard (''Elgaria multicarinata'') is a common species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Anguidae. The species is native to the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges from Baja California to the state of Washingt ...

Western pond turtle The Western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, r ...

Invertebrates

Banana slug Banana slugs are North American terrestrial slugs comprising the genus ''Ariolimax''. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Ariolimax Mörch, 1859. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p= ...

Black widow spider ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. Howeve ...

* Cactus longhorn beetle *

Chilean rose tarantula The Chilean rose tarantula (''Grammostola rosea''), also known as the rose hair tarantula, the Chilean fire tarantula, or the Chilean red-haired tarantula (depending on the color morph), is probably the most common species of tarantula available i ...

* Desert blond tarantula * Desert hairy scorpion * Desert millipede *

Madagascar hissing cockroach The Madagascar hissing cockroach (''Gromphadorhina portentosa''), also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching at maturity. They are native to the island of Madagascar, which is off ...

Wolf spider Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (). They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers Nature centers in California Walnut Creek, California Museums in Contra Costa County, California Natural history museums in California