Wildlife rehab society wins recognition WRANPS honored by Mississippi Wildlife Federation

Each day, volunteers around the state working for the nonprofit Wildlife Rehabilitation and Nature Preservation Society field as many as 40 phone calls seeking help for injured pelicans, hawks or opossums. Some calls come in for little things like gardening advice or to report a suspicious noise in the attic.

But often, the call is a matter of life and death for a victim of the narrowing gap between neighborhoods and roadways and the few remaining wildlands of the state.

That involvement, as well as the intensive outreach the group does with schoolchildren and community groups, earned it the Affiliate of the Year honor from the Mississippi Wildlife Federation.

The Mississippi Wildlife Federation, the state's largest and oldest wildlife rehabilitation organization, is the state arm of the National Wildlife Federation.

The recognition was given for the group's "dedication to preservation and education about our precious wildlife," a recent MWF press release said.

Formed in 1983 and based in Pass Christian, the wildlife rehabilitation society has active chapters in Jackson, Natchez and Ocean Springs.

The organization hopes to do more than just respond to individual crises, but to educate Mississippians how to better live in harmony with wildlife.

"With each new development, wildlife habitat is destroyed," a news release from the group said. "WRANPS knows that only through education can we all learn to live with wildlife and protect their homes."

The group reached an estimated 30,000 people with its message last year and aids an average of 2,000 animals per year, according to the release.