Clairenda Hart

Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician

Clairenda graduated from Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, NC, with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and a Minor in Wildlife Rehabilitation. Her curriculum included working in the wildlife rehabilitation center, where she learned animal husbandry and cared for various mammal, avian, and reptile species. She spent a summer at the center focusing on the care and release of baby mammals and songbirds. While in college, she also participated in programs and public outreach with ambassador animals, including red-tailed hawks, southern flying squirrels, cedar waxwings, and a milk snake.

After graduation, she accepted a six-month internship at the World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis, Missouri, where she worked with several knowledgeable raptor rehabilitators, expanding her expertise in critical care and treatment. She continued her career at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science as an Avian Seasonal Technician, caring for songbirds and raptors. During the summer, she helped rehabilitate about 500 baby songbirds, discovering new ways to enhance patient enrichment. Most recently, she went to O’ahu, Hawai’i, as a Seasonal Technician for the shearwater fallout season, where she cared for and released nearly 600 fledgling wedge-tailed shearwaters. After being away from the West Coast for so long Clairenda decided it was time to return home to the Northwest, hoping her experience and knowledge will contribute to the ongoing good work at Wolf Hollow.