Nature: Diana Huang made a difference in the wildlife community

The wildlife rehabilitation community lost one of its stars on July 31, with the passing of Diana Huang. The veterinarian donated untold thousands of hours to caring for orphaned and injured wildlife and was held in the highest regard by her colleagues and the myriad people whose lives she touched.

Huang, a native of New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University with an undergraduate degree in biology in 1993. She then relocated to Ohio to pursue a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine and received her DVM in 1997. She remained in the Buckeye state for the remainder of her life.

Hers was a case of someone truly following a lifelong passion. Smitten with animals from infancy, Huang wet her feet in the world of animal medicine as a veterinarian at Cat Welfare, and later, the Olentangy Animal Hospital.

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Native wildlife was long at the forefront of her passions, and she increasingly directed her attentions to the plight of injured and orphaned animals.

Squirrels were of special interest to her, but everything from opossums to woodchucks to screech owls benefited from her care. Huang’s skills with caring for and raising neonates — newborn infants — was legendary. It’s probably impossible to say how many wild critters came under her ministrations, but it’s safe to say her patients numbered into five figures.

Huang was long involved in the operation of the Ohio Wildlife Center near Powell, serving as a hospital shift supervisor since 2011. The OWC is the largest wildlife rehab organization in Ohio, and Huang became instrumental in servicing the myriad animals brought in each year.

A lifelong student, she relished the interchange with other vets and was always looking to learn more effective techniques and improve existing treatment strategies.

Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, Huang became involved in many professional groups related to the rehabilitation of native wildlife. She was a member of the Bat Working Group, under the auspices of Ohio State University.

A big part of this committee is educating the public about the importance of bats and the need to better conserve them. An educator at heart, Huang saw the importance of communicating the value of native animals — especially the underappreciated species — to the public. To that end, in 2016, she launched her own nonprofit, For All Species , to do just that.

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Space precludes mention of all the professional state and national organizations Huang was involved with, but one bears special mention: the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. It has trained over 7,500 wildlife rehabilitators since 2010. She oversaw project coordination for the council’s monumental effort to create a disaster preparedness workbook.

It is a template that provides directions in case of fire, various natural disasters or other events that might damage a rehab facility’s normal operations.

Scores of people regularly encounter injured wildlife and want to help, but are way over their paygrade when it comes to treatment. The Diana Huangs of the rehab world are the saviors who come to the rescue. She touched myriad people because of her charitable work.

This quote from Ohio Wildlife Center volunteer Kathy Steffens is telling: “Diana, I can’t believe you are not on this Earth anymore, caring for animals (and their humans) in such a compassionate manner. You have made such a difference in this world. Such selflessness. You will be missed, but remembered, for a long time.”

To make a donation to the Ohio Wildlife Center in honor of Diana Huang, visit ohiowildlifecenter.org/donate.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first and third Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at jim mccormac.blogspot.com .

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nature: Diana Huang made a difference in the wildlife community