Do you love animals? Have you ever had children or cared for a human baby or, at least are you willing to learn how to care for wildlife babies? Are you willing to get up in the middle of the night if you must to bottle feed a hungry baby raccoon or squirrel? Are you a responsible person who will do what needs to be done to help orphaned animals? If you can answer yes to those questions, you are a good candidate for rehabilitating wild life. Let me explain what is involved, who to contact and how to get started.
Wildlife rehabilitation is the nurturing of baby animals that are in need of foster care. Babies can be orphaned for any number of reasons. Sadly, many are orphaned when homeowners trap and relocate a mother raccoon living in their house. This should never be done in the spring because very often babies are then left behind in the attic where the mother was caring for them. Raccoon babies instinctively stay quiet when their mom is away. However, when they start actually starving after several days without food, they start crying for their mother.
Most people are conscientious and kind enough to call a rehabilitator when they hear the babies crying in the attic. That's how I get a lot of my babies, although I wish the mother coons had not been trapped at all. As to squirrels, all you need is a really windy day. If the winds really gust in a violent storm, the baby squirrels can literally be blown out of the trees. I used to wonder how these little babies, often tiny and with eyes still slitted and shut, survive the fall, but they do. In any event, when the babies start coming in, for whatever reason, the rehabilitators are there to save their lives, nurture them to young adulthood and release them back into the wild.
Some states don't have laws that specifically license rehabilitators. However, in most states, in order to possess a wild animal for rehabilitation, you need to get a permit. Generally, the Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, for the state provides the permit. The requirements differ from state to state. It is best to call the DNR of your state and ask about rehabbing. Do it before you have an animal in your possession. If you already have one, they may send someone out to take it from you. What will happen to it then is anybody's guess. To apply for your license, merely ask to talk to someone in the division that grants permits to rehabilitate wildlife.
Now anyone who thinks he or she wants to do this should realize that it's not all cuddling and feeding. Just like with a baby, when nourishment goes in, waste comes out. You will need to keep the babies warm, clean their bins and feed them the proper formula. Baby raccoons are fed KMR which is Kitten Replacement Formula. Baby squirrels are fed Esbilac. When the baby raccoons are really tiny, I feed them with a tiny nipple on a small syringe, the same way I feed baby squirrels. It is a learned skill, however, since if the milk is not fed very slowly, the baby can aspirate it and get pneumonia. It's really best to transport the tiniest babies to skilled and experienced rehabilitators. As the raccoons get older, I switch to a regular baby bottle with a preemie nipple. At about 8 weeks of age, they get slowly weaned to puppy chow and go outside in cages until they're ready to be released.
It's really not that hard to rehabilitate these orphans. Often you can start as an assistant under a skilled rehabilitator's license and then apply for your own. Additionally, Yahoo has some great rehabilitation groups such as RR6 and RR6Public. Just look for them on Yahoo groups. Experienced rehabilitators are always willing to help the rookies-just ask!! If you own some acreage for release, you have a distinct advantage. It's extremely rewarding to see them grow up, be released and run up a tree right before your eyes on your own property! You can set up a feeding station to help them make it through their first winter.
All you need is a place with trees close, put out a few loaves of bread or a bucket of dog chow each day, a large pan of water and you're set. If you are close to an outside power source, you can even buy small trough heaters that can be safely plugged in and put in the drinking water to keep if from freezing. Taking care of nature's orphans is one way that you can do good and promote kindness to wildlife. So, if you think you've got the right stuff to do it, go for it. A little orphan some day will thank you in his own sweet way as he scampers into the forest.
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