Mother Nature: Mona Rutger, the Woman Who Rescued 42,000 Animals and Counting
Meet the Woman Who Ignited the Back to the Wild Movement
By Mae Velasco, HeroFuel® Reporter
French poet Anatole France once put it beautifully: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
In Mona Rutger’s case, her soul was reawakened again and again 42,000 times over. And if the saying “Whoever saves a life, saves the world” is true, she has saved entire galaxies. For more than two decades, this licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who founded the nonprofit called Back to the Wild, has rescued more than 42,000 injured, displaced and orphaned, animals, releasing most of them back into their natural habitats.
“Goosebumps just go from your head to toe when that eagle or hawk or owl flies from your hand, and you know it doesn’t have to live in a cage tonight,” Rutger said to CNN. “I’ve done it thousands upon thousands of times, and it never gets old. It is still the most exciting, exhilarating experience I can share. Gets me every time.”
With Earth Day around the corner, it only makes sense to learn about this hero who is Mother Nature personified. Although HeroFuel® was unable to chat one-on-one with Mona, who after many years of being in the thick of dynamic and rugged rescues is now focusing on her health, her partner-in-crime, Back to the Wild Education and Wildlife Rehabilitation Coordinator Heather Tuttle, was wild about all of Mona’s and Back to the Wild’s accomplishments. Read more in our edited Q& A below!
GET TO KNOW MONA RUTGER AND BACK TO THE WILD:
HeroFuel®: We’d love to get to know Mona beyond her accomplishments. How would you describe her?
Heather Tuttle: Mona is most definitely a Type A personality. She is confident, knowledgeable, kind, compassionate, passionate and truly a remarkable person. When I first started working with her, before her health declined, nothing could get her down.
She was a constant whirlwind of activity and motion. Mona is a force of nature. …I don’t think it was possible to wear her out. She put everything inside of her into Back to the Wild, and when it seemed as though she had no more to give, she somehow gave more. It wasn’t just about wildlife. It was also about people. Through her educational programs, people just like me were — and still are — inspired to care and to do something about the plight of our planet.
HF: Mona once said she only expected to get 20 to 30 animals a year, but it blossomed to a 24/7 center that rescues more than 2,500 annually. What were those first few days like and how did it become what it is now?
HT: When Mona first started Back to the Wild, it was quite literally a bean field. She planted over 2,000 trees, and with her own money, built many of the original cages and structures. When she first began rescuing wildlife those first few years back in the ’90s, she was rescuing — on her own, I might add — …In the beginning, it was 50 to 100 animals, then a few hundred a year, then a thousand a year, and now we average 2,500 animals every single year.
…Mona took an empty bean field and, in a very short period of time, turned it into a refuge for wildlife and conservation. And she started it all with nothing but her own meager savings and her incredible force of will. It goes without saying that without her, none of this would be possible.
HF: How many team members are there?
HT: In those early years, it was just Mona and her husband, Bill, as well as a few dedicated volunteers who worked every day to keep the animals cared for and to present those first few educational programs. …Today, we have five full-time, year-round staff members, as well as a few seasonal staff to help round out the busy summers.
We work long hours, give up a lot of our free time, all so we can care for the over 100 permanently disabled animals that have become our ambassadors for wildlife and the hundreds of animals in rehab. We have to be jacks-of-all-trades and we have to have the heart and passion to do this. In many ways, Mona has inspired us with her own sacrifice.
HF: So, what’s a day in the life of a teammate in Back to the Wild?
HT: Great question! The answer is tough. Every day, we get up to 100 phone calls, tons of visitors, people walking in with injured animals, animals that need specialized care and more. We learn to quickly juggle everything with a finesse that I would say is rather impressive — but I am biased. …We throw our backs, sweat, tears, and even blood on occasion, into this and we love it.
HF: As a conservationist, was there a moment you felt had a major part in shaping who you are today?
HT: The pivotal moment came when I found an injured baby rabbit. I was around 16 or 17 years old. My parents and I took the bunny to a local wildlife rehabilitation center: Back to the Wild. When we got there, there was a wonderful woman who was so kind and compassionate, explaining the injury to the bunny and what she was going to do to help. I was so completely enamored with the setting, I couldn’t decided what I wanted to see and learn about first! The woman, Mona, took us around her beautiful center.
The passion in her called to the passion in me and I couldn’t stop myself from asking for a volunteer application. The rest, as they say, is history! I volunteered through college and after graduation, Mona hired me. Now, around 13 years later, I am the education and rehabilitation coordinator and I could not imagine myself doing anything else.
HF: Do you remember your first official rescue?
HT: The very first rescue I went on was with her husband, Bill, and it was for a bald eagle! It was miserable! In the middle of January, we arrived at the home to learn the bald eagle was at the back of their several-acres-large property — which was covered in over a foot of snow. …I don’t think it is possible to describe the cold. That wind whipping at our faces was like knives being driven into our skills! Once we arrived, we had to climb over a barbed wire fence to get to the rather ungrateful victim.
…Luckily, we all made it back unscathed. While the eagle was never to be released [due to a serious wing fracture from colliding with power lines], we were able to see her to a new home with another education facility after her injury had sufficiently healed. …It is a wonderful feeling to know you’ve helped to make a difference in a life, whether it is feathered, furred, scaled or other.
HF: What accomplishments are you most proud of?
HT: We talk to around 70,000 people a year. That means we get to touch the lives of thousands of people, young and old, and they get to touch our lives as well. The reward is astronomical and we all love it.
I am most proud of my work with the community. A great example is a phone call I got last spring. A man called about a nest of baby rabbits in his backyard. He said he was going to “rescue” them and bring them to us, but his son had told him he learned that most bunnies don’t need our help. His son had attended a program at Back to the Wild and learned that wild mom’s cannot hire babysitters and have to leave their babies alone all of the time.
Because his son remembered what he had learned, those bunnies got to grow up in the wild with their mom instead of in an incubator with a bunch of humans. The feeling, knowing you are helping to shape generations of people and helping to give them a sense of compassion and respect for the wild world…it is indescribable. I won’t lie, after that phone call, I did a little happy dance.
HF: Mona once said something profound about how it’s not nature, but humans who are hurting nature, and how we must inspire our children to protect the Earth. Can you elaborate on this?
HT: Absolutely. There is a man, Baba Diourn who described it best: “In the end, we conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught.”
Ninety-percent of the animals we rescue every year come to us because of human carelessness. So very much of it is preventable. …If you come across trash, whether it is yours or not, pick it up. Simply picking up litter can quite literally save the life of an animal.
…The takeaway is you don’t have to be a big, powerful person to make a difference. We can all make a difference. It only takes everyday people like you and me to make the future of our planet one that our children, grandchildren and so on can be proud of.
HF: Any last comments or thank-yous you want to share?
HT: Our thank-yous have to go to our amazing supporters and volunteers. Without them, we could not keep our doors open. We don’t really have any major corporate support so we depend on the small businesses and everyday people to help us help wildlife and to help us make a difference.
Personally, I would want to thank Mona Rutger, for not only inspiring me to do this work, but also for giving me a chance. I was such a shy girl back when I started here but she saw my potential. Without her, I might not be waking up everyday to go to my dream job.
Want to learn more about Back to the Wild and how you can help? Visit their website here!
