Loveland-based wildlife center caring for three injured turtles

Tallon Nightwalker has dedicated his life — from the time he was a child — to rehabilitating and caring for injured and orphaned wildlife.

One of the founders of Northern Colorado Wildlife Center, and its director, Nightwalker and his team are caring for three patients in their Loveland facility — all injured turtles.

Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Kate Boyd with the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center shows some of the injuries on a painted turtle Wednesday, June 30, 2021, they are treating at the nonprofit in Loveland. The turtle was injured when it was chewed on by a dog that found it in its yard. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)

"We give them as much time as they need to heal," said Nightwalker, explaining that the goal is to rehabilitate and return the creatures to their native, wild habitat.

Two 14-pound snapping turtles were injured when they were hit by vehicles, one in north Fort Collins and the other between Fort Collins and Loveland, and a smaller painted turtle was injured by a dog in a backyard near Carter Lake.

All three are patients at the center, which houses only amphibians and reptiles out of a space in vice president Kate Boyd's home in Loveland. Nightwalker said the damage to their shells and bodies will heal, and he believes all three will be able to be released back into nature.

Both of the snapping turtles were hit by vehicles that did not stop, but luckily, the drivers of the cars behind them did stop and seek help from Northern Colorado Wildlife Center and its team of 65 volunteers and six licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

Both turtles have cracks in their shell, and one also had a punctured lung and some internal bleeding, Nightwalker said. They are being treated with antibiotics and time to heal. Their shells will "granulate over" and harden.

The third patient is a western box turtle who was chewed on by a dog. He is being treated with pain medication and antibiotics, and being given time to heal.

"The whole outside of his shell is chewed on or torn up," Boyd said. "Chunks are missing. He has a couple of big lacerations. Luckily his shell did what it was supposed to. It kept his arms, his limbs, his organs safe. … His shell won't ever be the same. It won't be a full, big shell like you see on a regular painted turtle, but we think it will heal up so he can go back in the wild."

Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Michela Dunbar with the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center holds a common snapping turtle as they prepare to tend to its wounds Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at the nonprofit in Loveland. The turtle was hit by a car in Fort Collins and they are rehabilitating it. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Nightwalker began working with wildlife as a 5-year-old volunteer alongside his father at the Larimer Humane Society when it had a program called WildKind that focused on helping and rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife.

As an adult, he became a certified wildlife rehabilitator, working at Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Longmont, before helping found Northern Colorado Wildlife Center five years ago. Nightwalker is now the only paid employee of the Loveland-based center that is funded by grants and donations.

He works with a team of six licensed wildlife rehabilitators and 65 volunteers from around the region to rescue wild animals in need throughout Larimer and Weld counties.

The nonprofit can house only reptiles and amphibians at its facility in Boyd's home, but the volunteers will respond to any wild animal in need, rescue them and find placement at other facilities in the state.

"We've helped deer out of yards," said Nightwalker. "We've helped fish that are tangled up in fishing line. We'll do water rescue for herons that are tangled up in fishing line."

A gallery of patient photos on the center's website shows turtles and toads, squirrels and snakes, even a pelican that the volunteer team has helped. Recently, though, they have seen an increase in turtles that have been injured by some sort of human contact, said Nightwalker and Boyd.

They wanted to make residents aware of native turtles — that they live in Loveland and throughout Colorado and that, like all species, they are crucial to the ecosystem and natural balance.

Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Kate Boyd with the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center, left, holds a common snapping turtle as Michela Dunbar, also with the wildlife center, flushes the turtle's wounds on her shell Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at the nonprofit in Loveland. The turtle is one of two hit by cars in Fort Collins that they are rehabilitating. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)

And with a goal of education as well as rehabilitation, the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center wanted to let residents know that, while there are five native turtle species in Colorado, the most common are painted turtles, ornate box turtles and snapping turtles.

They ask residents, if they see an injured turtle, to contact the wildlife center for help instead of trying to care for the creature themselves. Reptiles need specific care and medications, different from other animals, Nightwalker explained.

Or if they see a turtle trying to cross the road, they can make sure it gets there safely, or even help it across. Nightwalker said it is safe to pick up turtles, even snapping ones, from the back of the shell — like a sandwich — and that it is important to take the turtle to the side of the road that they intended to go.

It could injure the turtle to be picked up by the tail, so he stressed to hold onto the back of the shell.

These reptiles survive only in their native habitat and areas, so it is important not to remove them from their ecosystem or, if they are taken for treatment, to release them into the same native space.

The Northern Colorado Wildlife Center has a goal of opening a larger facility to help other wildlife, including birds and mammals, in Larimer and Weld Counties. But until that happens, the team is still dedicated to answering all calls for help and finding the needed resources.

"We don't charge for any of (our) services," said Nightwalker. "It's inclusive to everyone in our community. … We rely on people and donations to keep the food coming and the heat on."

To contact the wildlife center to volunteer, donate or for help with wildlife, visit nocowildlife.org or the Facebook page for the nonprofit.