If you find young wildlife, do NOT move it. If you are SURE it is injured or ill, call your local wildlife rehabilitator. They will instruct you on the best thing to do. Many wildlife mothers leave their babies for periods of time. This is safer for the babies and draws less attention to them as well. So that fawn you find that you think is most likely abandoned, is 99% of the time, not. Mom is just off doing her thing and the baby is resting and waiting, quietly. It knows what to do.
Adult wildlife that are sick or injured are dangerous. They are SCARED and HURT. This is a dangerous combination for you. You can get seriously hurt by long claws, beaks, teeth, etc., by animals that are trying to protect themselves in a very vulnerable state. Again, it is best to call your local wildlife rehabilitator and they will instruct you on the best thing to do.
Other Ways You Can Help
Wildlife Rehabilitators don’t earn pay for the animals they take into care. They use their own money & the donations of generous individuals who choose to donate to the wildlife care.
These are some things donations may be spent on:
Animal food
Animal Medical supplies
Animal Veterinary Bills
Cage Supplies/Improvements
Animal Care Supplies
Cleaning Supplies for Cages
Etc., just to give you an idea.
Veterinary bills alone can run an individual rehabber anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars a year depending on the animals they are taking in & the care they need.
Many Rehabbers also maintain non-releasable animals to help educate others on wildlife & also the job of rehabilitators. Rehabbers will often have an adopt-an-animal program where you can “adopt” one of their non-releasable by providing a monetary donation for the feed or care of the animal for a given amount of time, say a month. They will have an amount, depending on the type of adoption & what you are providing (IE: feeding the animal for a month). You often times will get a little letter or email, with a photo of the animal & details about that particular species of animal. Not all rehabbers will do that, as they don’t all have time & it may vary.
Check rehabilitators websites for their “wishlists” of items they need. You can help by donating the items they need, or even if you do not live close enough to donate the items, you can make a monetary donation – if you wish to provide an items (or items) on their list, you can always include a note with your donation letting them know that you wish to provide “these” items with your donation. Many items (such as paper towels) for instance may stay on a rehabber’s list “indefinitely”. Many rehabbers use many of these & can always use all the donations of them they can get.
You can also check over their website for “Adopt-an-Animal” program.
Another way you can help is by volunteering time. Many rehabbers need help building or cleaning cages. Please note, though, many times you won’t be allowed contact with the animals themselves due to health & safety issues. You may be able to see some though. This varies situation to situation though, & state to state.
