Year Founded
1981
EIN
56-1349170
Local Leader/Exec. Director
Erin Katzner, President and CEO
Primary Contact Name
Rachel Neal
Main Address

6000 Sample Road
Huntersville, NC 28078
United States

What We Do

Carolina Raptor Center ignites imaginations and inspires engagement in the natural world through the exploration and rehabilitation of birds of prey. The 3/4 mile Raptor Trail is an educational attraction located at Latta Nature Preserve that allows visitors to experience the magic of birds of prey through more than 30 avian ambassadors. Our current Raptor Hospital facility treats over 800 to 1000 raptors a year, releasing 60% of the birds that live for the first 24 hours back into the wild. Carolina Raptor Center will soon embark on a capital campaign for a new facility that will include a large amphitheater and state-of-the-art aviaries to house one of the largest collections of birds of prey in the country.

Interesting Info
  • In 2022, CRC's Raptor Hospital treated its 25,000 patient and held a public release of a Bald Eagle to celebrate.
  • CRC's Raptor Trail sees more than 30,000 visitors annually and our educational programs reach thousands of people each year.
  • In 2023, CRC became home to 28 Black Vultures as part of a research trial for a vaccine against avian influenza to help protect endangered California Condors.
Geographic Location
A Black Vulture flies to a perch while a trainer and family watches nearby.
A young Barred Owl receives eye drops.
Carolina Raptor Center staff holds an owl in front of a group of children.
A veterinarian performs surgery on a bird.
Visitors engage with Carolina Raptor Center staff in front of an enclosure for Abyssian Ground Hornbills.
Rehab staff perform a procedure on a bird.