DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center reopens to public after expansion

Every year, thousands of injured, sick or orphaned animals are brought to the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in west suburban Glen Ellyn for treatment.

Now, they're also welcoming humans to visit their brand new campus.

Harmless as a baby wrapped in a blanket until he wakes up, a sick but sassy owl landed in the right place, with veterinarian Sarah Reich.

 "This guy has gotten much more sassy, which means he bites, he tries to talon us, which are all fantastic things for him to do as a great horned owl," Reich said.

The owl is suffering from severe anemia and poor clotting, and was in the fifth day of his treatment on Tuesday at the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center. Reich said he likely wouldn't have made it more than a day or two in the wild without treatment.

He had plenty of company, from opossums to hummingbirds to just about any other bird.

"Currently, right now, we have multiple red-tailed hawks, great horned owls and a token turkey vulture," Reich said.

The DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn is the largest wildlife center in Illinois.

"Currently in care, there's about 130 patients, but it's also the slow time of year, so in the summertime, we can get up to over 800, 900 patients at one time," said wildlife education supervisor Stephani Touzalin.

Touzalin knows this center is more ready than ever this year for busy season.

"We've been waiting a long time to share this space with our community," she said.

After years of work, the facility has more than quadrupled in size – to 27,000 square feet.

A new visitor center is open to the public – connected to a wildlife hospital that opened last spring.

"Instead of working with one exam table, we have four exam tables, which some days, we take in between 100 to 150 animals just in one day," Reich said.

Visitors can even watch a vet work.

"We have windows into surgery room, so you can see orthopedic surgery, soft-tissue surgeries, endoscopy, dentals, you name it," Reich said.

The windows also feature bird-friendly glass to prevent birds from flying into them.