SOUTHPORT, N.C. — As Brunswick County continues to grow with new housing complexes and businesses, one Southport woman is worried about what that might mean for the animals.
Anna Bolduc of Bolduc’s Wildlife Rescue says she’s seen an increase in the number of animals needing care, something she believes is caused by the increased development in the county.
For as long as Bolduc can remember, she’s had a deep love for animals. It’s a trait she picked up with the help of her father.
“My dad always had a really big heart for animals, and I remember when I was little, he found and raised this little sparrow, so I actually have a picture of me when I was like 2, so that was my first memory,” Bolduc said. “And then we would go out and just sit in the yard and watch for animals and look for bunnies and squirrels.”
Years later, she became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and opened her own wildlife rescue.
Now, she’s not looking for birds and bunnies like when she was a kid. She mostly takes care of animals other people might consider to be a pest, like opossums and squirrels.
“I just love squirrels, I love ‘em,” said Bolduc’s apprentice, Christine Hunt, “I love the opossums, too. She loves the opossums, I love the squirrels, so we just kind of divvy them up, but it’s been a big year for both.”
This past season alone, Bolduc says she and Hunt have rehabbed over 400 animals.
She says that number is mostly due to an increase in development in the area as well as tropical storms and hurricanes.
In Brunswick County, more and more housing developments are planned, and Bolduc fears that the animals will be pushed out of their homes and susceptible to injury.
“There’s definitely a need for it,” Bolduc said. “Most of the ones we get in come in because their mothers have been hit by a car and someone stopped to check the pouch.”
Making sure these opossums and squirrels have somewhere to go is important, not just for those animals, but for humans as well.
“Ninety percent of the trees you see are from the squirrels planting the trees, and the opossums clean up the dead animals,” Bolduc said. “The opossums will eat ticks and cockroaches and mice and cottonmouth snakes, so they’re like nature's little exterminators.”
According to the National Wildlife Federation, opossums provide free pest control, with a single opossum eating over 5,000 ticks in a season.
For Bolduc, giving those little exterminators a second chance at life is simply doing what’s right.
“It feels like it’s kind of what we’re supposed to do as people, like we were given dominion over the animals to protect and be their caretaker,” Bolduc said. “So if we’re pushing them out by clearcutting the forests, we need to figure out some way to provide for them and make up for what we’ve taken.”
The Brunswick County Planning Board says that the county is one of the fastest-growing in the state and that it has been increasing development activity over the past few years to accommodate.
The board says it works to implement the best management practices and efficient uses of land to reduce environmental impacts to plants and wildlife.
Bolduc’s Wildlife Rescue is looking for volunteers who can help care for the animals as they anticipate another busy season ahead. If you’re interested in helping, you can visit the organization’s Facebook page.