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Who lives at the UTC Wildlife Sanctuary?

Unwanted Pets
We receive many calls from people seeking to place unwanted pets. Many individuals find out after they have purchased a pet that they are unable to obtain the proper food for it, that it grows much larger than they expected, or that it is not that easy to handle.

Confiscated Illegal Pets
Each year many exotic animals are illegally sold through the international pet trade. Many of our animals were confiscated by authorities and turned over to the Wildlife Sanctuary for safe keeping.

Injured Animals
Connectucut is home to a variety of wildlife species. Each year many animals are found injured and cared for by a network of wildlife rehabilitators. Most are released back into the wild. However some remain at the wildlife sanctuary because they can no longer survive in the wild.

Accidental Tourists
Each year the wildlife sanctuary receives calls to pick up “accidental tourists.” These are non-native animals that arrive in shipments such as lumber or fruit. We have received frogs, tarantulas, scorpions, black widows, lizards, snakes and many others.

Current Residents


Click on many of the residents' names below to see more photos and information about them!

Special Thanks to James T. Dowling-Healey for his photography, research and writing donation to The Children’s Museum for our new animal photos and descriptions. All of the photos and descriptions on the pages linked below are his work.

Mammals

  • Bobcat
  • Caracal
  • Chinchilla
  • European Ferret
  • Canada Lynx
  • Jungle Cat
  • Dumbo Rat
  • African Pygmy Hedgehog

Birds

Crocodilians

  • Nile crocodile
  • American Alligator

Lizards

Snakes

  • Colombian Boa
  • Boa Constrictor
  • Northern Copperhead
  • Corn Snake
  • Snow Corn Snake
  • Ball Python
  • Black Rat Snake
  • White-sided Black Rat Snake
  • Canebrake Rattlesnake
  • Western Diamond-back Rattlesnake
  • California King Snake
  • Lavender Banana King Snake
  • Timber Rattlesnake
  • Nelsons Milk Snake
  • Florida Cottonmouth
  • Northern Water Snake

Turtles

  • Eastern Box Turtle
  • Western Painted Turtle
  • Eastern Painted Turtle
  • Red-eared Slider
  • Common Snapping Turtle
  • Leopard Tortoise
  • Musk Turtle
  • Radiated Tortoise
  • Russian Tortoise
  • Three-toed Box Turtle
  • Reeves Turtle
  • Malayan Box Turtle
  • African Mud Turtle
  • Diamond Back Terrapin
  • Mississippi Map Turtle
  • African helmeted Turtle
  • Red-footed Tortoise
  • Sulcata Tortoise

Amphibians

  • Sharp-ribbed Newt
  • Cane Toad
  • African Bullfrog
  • White's Tree Frog
  • Bullfrog
  • Axolotl
  • Malayan Painted Toad
  • Pacman Frog
  • Spotted Salamander

Arthropods

  • Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
  • Rosy-haired Tarantula
  • Northern Walkingstick
  • Emperor Scorpion

Fish