Found an Injured or Orphaned Animal?

Please do not handle wild animals unless it is absolutely necessary. If you must intervene, take appropriate precautions and never use your bare hands.

Before bringing an animal to us, please contact us directly by phone or email. We are a small mammal rehabilitation facility, and there are some animals we are unable to treat. If that is the case, we will gladly refer you to another licensed rehabilitator who can help.

Please do not leave animals unattended at our gate or assume we are aware they have been dropped off. Doing so can put the animal at serious risk from predators, extreme temperatures, dehydration, or other dangers.

As a small facility, we do not have a 24-hour answering service, so we may not be able to respond immediately. In addition to caring for the animals already in our rehabilitation program, we also manage family responsibilities and outside work that helps support the facility.

For the safety and well-being of the animal, please wait for confirmation from us before traveling here with an animal in need.

What to Do With an Orphaned Animal

Is it really an orphan? Sometimes an animal is not an orphan. It may have fallen from the nest and its mother will retrieve it when the coast is clear.

If a baby is found with a dead mother, take the baby and callUrban Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. immediately!

Orphaned Squirrels, Chipmunks, and Rabbits

If the baby appears uninjured and is warm, leave it where you found it, after all people and noises are gone. If it is cold, place it in a shallow open box with some warm bedding (no towels) and a hot water bottle or other heat source (jar filled with warm water or Ziploc bag filled with warm water).

Watch from a window or other concealed area for the mother to retrieve her baby. The mother WILL NOT come if you are standing nearby.

KEEP PETS INDOORS!

Squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits will generally only retrieve their young during daylight.

If it becomes dark and the mother has not returned, call Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc.

Orphaned Raccoons and Skunks

Nocturnal animals such as raccoons and skunks will generally wait until it is dark to retrieve their young. Place the animal in a cardboard box with some soft bedding, a heat source. Once it is dark, place the box in a quiet area close to where you found the baby. Put a plastic laundry basket over the box, so that the mother will be able to remove the basket to retrieve it and the baby will not be attacked by a predator. Or you can use a reuniting box.

Watch from a window or concealed area. The mother

WILL NOT come if you are standing nearby.

If the mother does not come and retrieve her young overnight, call Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. 413-275-9462

Also, please visit the Western Massachusetts Rehabilitators’ Association’s webpage for visual guidance on assisting an orphaned, ill, or injured mammal.

Orphaned Bird

If you find an injured or orphaned bird, please visit Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic’s FAQ page for more information and call the clinic for further assistance. Also, please visit the Western Massachusetts Rehabilitators’ Association’s webpage for visual guidance on assisting an orphaned, ill, or injured bird.

Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic: (508-839-7918)

Injured Mammal

If you find an injured adult, conscious or unconscious, place a garbage can or recycling bin over it to contain it.

If you find a bat, please refer to Bat World Sanctuary’s webpage for the best course of action.

 Call Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc for further questions or assistance.: 413-275-9462