We love watching South Jersey wildlife get a new lease on life while being treated at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. But did you know these fun facts about the many critters who spend time being rehabilitated before returning to the wild?
Black Rat Snakes mostly eat small rodents, such as mice, rats, moles and chipmunks. Cedar Run’s black rat snake wildlife ambassador is named Remi.
The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year. Cedar Run’s Wood Duck Wildlife Ambassador is named Acorn.
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There are more than 200 species of squirrel around the world.
During hibernation, groundhogs lower their heart rate to only 4 or 5 beats per minute.
While Virginia Opposums don’t hibernate, they do find a warm place to make a den for the winter like hollow trees or wood piles and line it with grass or leaf litter, which they carry in their curled-up tails.
Cedar Run’s resident Canada Goose, Utley, arrived at the refuge in 1999.
Saw-whet Owls are generally a monogamous species.
Downy Woodpeckers’ feathers are black and white checkered. You can spot a male by the red patch on the back of its head.
Groundhogs are also called whistle pigs because of the high-pitched whistle they can make.
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Cardinals get their red color from the variety of wild fruits they eat, which contain carotenoids that can create the reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks found in avian feathers.
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When Eastern Cottontail rabbits are being chased, they will run in a zigzag pattern to evade predators. They are very nervous animals and can die just from the stress of being handled or kept in captivity.
Chipmunks don’t hibernate, but they will go through periods of deep sleep called torpor.
In 2023, more than 6,200 native wildlife were cared for by Cedar Run.
