Sweetbriar Nature Center treating animals displaced by storm

Several animals have been found injured, displaced and in need of treatment following broken dams on the North Shore.

Kurt Semder

Aug 23, 2024, 9:49 PM

Updated 20 days ago

Share:

Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown is full of animals in need of treatment following this week's storms.
From a snapping turtle to a night heron, they say if an animal is found alive, they want to help it.
Sweetbriar Nature Center director of wildlife rehabilitation Janine Bendicksen says good Samaritans from Strong Island Rescue dropped off the snapping turtle earlier this week, covered in mud. X-rays revealed the turtle had fishing lines and hooks inside its body. They were able to remove some of them and are hopeful the turtle will have a full recovery.
Sweetbriar expects to receive more calls about animals discovered in the coming days, after dams destroyed the homes of many animals and displaced many others outside their natural habitats.