Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network opened its new animal hospital and renovated seabird pool in 2022, just in time for a crisis. They were inundated with brown pelicans who were starving due, in part, to warming waters and exposure to toxic algal blooms. (Rebecca Gaal photo)
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network opened its new animal hospital and renovated seabird pool in 2022, just in time for a crisis. They were inundated with brown pelicans who were starving due, in part, to warming waters and exposure to toxic algal blooms. (Rebecca Gaal photo)

There are no tours of the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, no open houses or on-site events. Access to the 1.5-acre complex in the Goleta foothills is so limited that most people can’t come inside.

But it is extremely welcoming to a select few — wildlife that have been injured or orphaned.

A baby bobcat receives bottle feeding at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. (Wild Rescue/Rebecca Gaal)
A baby bobcat receives bottle feeding at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. (Rebecca Gaal / Wild Rescue photo)

Their life-saving activities cannot be physically shared with human visitors for many reasons, including preventing the spread of infectious diseases, and reducing stress among some 200 diverse species of feathered, furry, scaly, and sometimes hard-shelled patients.

But now, the Wildlife Care Network’s efforts can be seen by everyone in a new, large-format, high-definition film: “Wild Rescue.”

The 40-minute documentary is directed by local resident Ian Shive, and premieres at a benefit screening Thursday, July 31, at the Lobero Theatre.

An adult squirrel gets a gentle cleaning after a messy feeding at the Wildlife Care Network. (Wild Rescue/Rebecca Gaal)
An adult squirrel gets a gentle cleaning after a messy feeding at the Wildlife Care Network. (Rebecca Gaal / Wild Rescue photo)

Tickets for the Wild Night Out screening start at $48, with an optional $300 add-on for VIP seating and reception; sponsorships start at $500. Visit lobero.com.

“Our biggest challenge has been to explain what goes on here — urgent care, surgery, post-op treatment, newborn care, physical therapy, all conducted by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers,” said Ariana Katovich, executive director.

“This film is our best shot at demonstrating the compassion and science behind the work,” she said.

Ariana Katovich, executive director of Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, with filmmaker Ian Shive. (Courtesy photo)
Ariana Katovich, executive director of Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, with filmmaker Ian Shive. (Courtesy photo)

Wildlife Care Network started in 1988 with a group of community members caring for injured and orphaned wildlife in their homes.

Then, as now, the organization relies on volunteers alongside professional staff to handle the constant arrivals of animals needing care.

It operated out of several small spaces, and in 2004 acquired the Goleta property, once an avocado orchard. In 2012, the group moved into improvised digs there, but had dreams for a modern facility.

After the 2018 Holiday wildfire, they put their dreams into action.

No buildings were lost, but the fire destroyed irrigation, bioswales, and the remaining avocado trees. The animals were evacuated, and the center closed for three months to address damage from smoke and ash.

A baby possum at the Wildlife Care Network transitions from syringe feeding to eating solid food on its own.(Wild Rescue/Rebecca Gaal)
A baby possum at the Wildlife Care Network transitions from syringe feeding to eating solid food on its own.(Rebecca Gaal / Wild Rescue photo)

Three years later, after a $6 million fundraising campaign, they broke ground on a state-of-the-art, 5,500-square-foot wildlife hospital. It opened in February 2022 – just in time for a crisis.

That spring, hundreds of starving brown pelicans were found stranded on California beaches, due in part to warming waters and exposure to toxic algal blooms.

Wildlife Care Network treated 80 pelicans, a stretch even with their new resources.

“We could not do that without the new building, there’s just no way,” said Katovich. “But just last week we had 51 intakes in one day. That’s an incredible amount of animals.”

Inside, there is a room dedicated to exams and triage, a veterinary suite, nurseries for baby birds and mammals, an isolation room, a laboratory, an animal kitchen, and an area especially outfitted to treat oiled birds.

The two seabird pools and “Raccoon Resort” were renovated; new avian recovery enclosures built; and improvements made for irrigation and fire preparedness.

An advanced CT machine, partially donated by Goleta company iCRco, “allows us to see animals in ways we never had before and be able to make diagnoses more quickly,” Katovich said.

In the film, possums, bobcats, raccoons, pelicans, songbirds, hummingbirds, bats and foxes are shown under the care of staff and volunteers.

A Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network team member examines an X-ray of an avian patient. (Wild Rescue/Rebecca Gaal)
A Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network team member examines an X-ray of an avian patient. (Rebecca Gaal / Wild Rescue photo)

The caregivers’ compassion is especially palpable in the footage of the releases of their animal charges back into the wild. The Wildlife Network cared for 3,000 patients as of July 15 this year, including an influx during spring “baby season.” That number could top 4,000, up 7.5 percent from 2024.

The film’s director, Ian Shive is an Ansel Adams-award winning photographer, filmmaker, and conservationist. His past documentaries explored far-flung locations, like inaccessible reefs in the Pacific Ocean (“Hidden Pacific”) and the isolated Aleutian Islands in Alaska (“The Last Unknown”).

Shive was introduced to Wildlife Care Network soon after he moved to Santa Ynez from Los Angeles in 2020, and later served on the organization’s board.

“I have made a career of going to remote places, but after watching Wildlife Care Network grow, a lightbulb went off: I had never made a film about my own backyard,” said Shive, who called from Louisiana, on location for a film about the Gulf Coast.

It took two and a half years, 80 hours of footage, and 47 versions of the script to bring the 40-minute film to the screen.

“Even though it is about Wildlife Care Network, we have a universal theme. Any backyard is an opportunity to engage with nature,” he said.

“Wild Rescue” is no small film. It was shot for giant screen format (IMAX is best known), and released in both Digital 2D and 3D.

Even on a small screen, the details are sharp down to a bobcat’s whiskers, and the sweeping aerial cinematography is breathtaking.

Special care was taken with the sound, so each chirp, hiss, hoot, quack and growl can be heard. It is an immersive viewing experience.

Distributed by Cosmic Picture, “Wild Rescue” has been picked up to screen in IMAX theaters in U.S. museums and outlets in Asia, Canada, South America, and Australia.

Each ticket provides revenue for Wildlife Care Network. “It will help the organization for years to come. But we will always still need donations,” reminded Katovich.

Shive also credited narrator Marc Summers for “making the script his own, and approachable.” The former host of Food Network’s “Unwrapped” is also a local resident. “He’s a great representative of our community to a global audience,” said Shive.

“We hope people will see our story and be inspired to connect with their local wildlife,” Katovich said. “Someone in St. Louis, Missouri, or Melbourne, Australia, could connect with their community’s resources, learn where to go, and how to help local efforts.”

“Most of the world doesn’t get to experience this work firsthand, but all of us have a backyard,” Shive added. “A film is a great way to educate and entertain at the same time.”