If you find a featherless, fuzzy, or incomplete bird, you'll need help. If the bird appears to be unharmed, the best chance of survival is to return it to the nest. If possible, gently return the bird to its nest. If you find a nest on the ground with young or eggs, tie it to a nearby tree.
You can place the nest in a small box or in a margarine tub (with drainage holes) to make it easier to secure it. If the baby seems to be injured or the nest cannot be located, place the bird in a small box covered with paper tissues; keep it warm, dark and calm and try to get it to a wildlife center as soon as possible. DON'T OFFER HIM FOOD OR WATER. If you find a young squirrel on the ground that looks healthy and the nest has been destroyed, the squirrel can still be returned to its mother.
By Tony Rankin, director of operations and head of animal services for the Alexandria Animal Welfare League. If you discover an egg nest in your garden (piles of mulch and compost are reptiles' favorite places to lay eggs), leave them where they are or contact a wildlife rehabilitator to help you relocate them. Keeping a native wild animal in the state of California is illegal if you don't have the proper permits and licenses, even if you plan to release the animal. Since then, Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control has removed and excluded more than 200,000 wild animals using environmentally friendly and poison-free methods from day one.
During the spring and summer, baby animals are taken to the wildlife hospital of the New England Wildlife Center for emergency veterinary care. If you can't directly locate a wildlife rescue center or rehabilitator, contact an animal shelter, zoo, humanitarian society, animal control department, nature center, state wildlife agency, or veterinarian for advice. As with budding birds, “rescuing baby deer and rabbits by taking them out of the wild is unnecessary and reduces their chances of survival. He founded Skedaddle in 1989, recognizing the need for urban wildlife professionals who focus on humane extraction methods.
The most important thing you can do when you find any wild animal in need, whether an infant or an adult, is to immediately call a local wildlife rescue center or authorized wildlife rehabilitator for help. To report endangered wild animals, call the San Francisco Animal Care shipping number & Control at (41) 554-9400. Moving wild animals is a last resort and should only be attempted if the animal is in clear and imminent danger.
