29/04/2025
"The wrong thing for the right reasons"
You will hear me say it all spring and summer long.
I am referring to people who find and care for wildlife instead of taking them to a licensed, experienced wildlife rehabilitator. We exist and we are all over the country, ready to help the helpless and innocent grow and release, avoiding attachment to people and developing a body and mind that will thrive without our support later on when they are ready to go, and release within the appropriate window so they can mature fully in the wild, where they belong, avoiding dependance on people.
I get it. Our nature as people who live with a strong sense of empathy and compassion for animals feel the creatures we rescue are our responsibility, and that is true in the legal sense. Finders in Oklahoma who take possession of wildlife, injured, orphaned or sick, have a 24 hour window to deliver that animal to a licensed wildlife rehabber, and during that period, we will accept the animal every time. After that, we will have questions, and those answers will determine if that animal can be rehabilitated in our program and successfully released.
The most common mistakes made with wildlife falling under "the wrong thing for the right reasons" are;
*Feeding a baby anything other than proper foods and formulas causing digestive issues, metabolic bone disease and even toxic poisoning
*Aspirating a baby with improper feeding methods
*Imprinting a baby by keeping too long and handling too often
*Improper body temp regulation during feedings causing the digestive system to shut down
*Over handling causing stress induced capture myopathy which can be difficult to treat and often death
And a million little things that can cause a downward spiral in wildlife.
I spoke to a gentleman yesterday. He and his wife had found a squirrel orphan weeks ago. They fed a commercial puppy formula and weaned too early, causing metabolic bone disease and the squirrel developed seizures. The recommendation from another rescue was euthanasia. I supported the recommendation and his heartbreak in turn broke mine, for the couple that worked so hard to save a life, and the squirrel who's life would end. It bothered me that I didn't take in the squirrel and try, but I have policies in place during our busy season for a reason. It is so those who can survive get enough of our time, and I don't put my crew through the emotional torture of taking on battles for a life that we cannot win. I know them so well.
We are all overwhelmed in spring, and bringing a busy wildlife rehabber an animal who now has life threatening issues we will have to scramble and hover to resolve when we have hundreds who need our attention is not a kindness to the animals or the people caring for them. Bring us the babies when they are found for them to have the best chance at survival. Period. Nothing is more heartbreaking or aggravating to us to watch a baby die when we could have saved it had someone else not done the wrong thing for the right reasons. We know that all our finders care. We just ask that you care enough to want to give every wild orphan the best chance possible to survive.
I can't say it any nicer. Our intake charts tell the stories of "trial and error" on the finder's part, and those animals have yellow sheets. A yellow sheet indicates a medical issue. 75% or more of the yellow sheets on orphans are from mistakes made with initial care by finders and cat caught orphans. The rest are most commonly emaciation, fall injuries, parasites, wounds and hypothermia. We have to watch those babies closely to overcome these issues. Please don't contribute to their struggles, or ours to keep up with them.
Keep them warm, calm and find a wildlife rehabilitator immediately and know that you have done your part to save a life.
And Google is not a wildlife rehabber.
Thank you. Pass it on.
Annette King
