Learn About Wildlife Rescue

Injured Wildlife

Orphaned Squirrel

Orphaned Squirrel – photo courtesy Melanie Furr

“I found a wild animal, I need help. What do I do?”  As counter-intuitive as it may seem, perhaps the best thing is to do nothing. The sites below will help make that determination.

If the animal or bird is injured, the best thing is to contact a licensed and accredited  local wildlife rescue organization.

Aware_top_logoIf you are in Atlanta there’s just such an organization close by in Lithonia, GA called AWARE (Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort).  They are an excellent federally recognized 501(c)(3) organization and have been helping rescue and rehabilitate wildlife for over 15 years.

If you are not in Atlanta, a quick Internet search will often point the way to organizations that can help.  For example, while looking around, we found a site in Maryland called Wildlife Rescue, Inc.  We mention them, because their site has good general information on what to do.

Injured Birds

Atlanta AudubonIf you are trying to help a bird, Atlanta Audubon’s website has a page on Injured/Orphaned Birds.  This page has:

  1. a checklist to determine if your bird needs help
  2. tips for transporting an injured bird
  3. common facts and myths about rehabilitating birds.

All excellent information!

Great Reads About Rescuing Wildlife

Raccoon

photo courtesy Melanie Furr

My Eco-centric Life

We met Melanie Furr in February while she was attempting to rescue a Pied-billed Grebe who had become tangled up in a dog toy floating on the pond in Murphey Candler Park (see our post “Rescue Adventure“).  What an amazing person!  She is now with Atlanta Audubon, but before that she worked with AWARE.  Her blog is called “My Eco-centric Life” and has some very interesting information told in a witty and entertaining style.  We especially like this one: “You Might Be A Wildlife Rehabilitator If…“.

The Duck Pond Hawk

Screen Shot 2016-03-12 at 12.56.22 PMIf you have a child, we recommend a book by Susan Murray Euart called The Duck Pond Hawk.  It’s a tale about rescuing a Red-shouldered Hawk chick that fell from its nest in an urban Atlanta neighborhood.   It’s a great story and people do all the right things to rescue the hawk.