Page 48 - Robeson Living Spring 2022

Wild Life

Blooming!

spend the majority of their time during baby season feeding
the babies. Depending on the age and species of the animals,
feedings can be every twenty minutes, every hour, or every two
hours. This increased number of patients will remain for sev-
eral weeks or months after admission as most of the babies will
stay with the rehab for this lengthy period of time before re-
lease can even be considered. A Wild Life is a growing wildlife
rehabilitation center that is grateful to have an amazing team
of volunteers doing rescue, transport, and rehab to help save as
many of these lives as possible. Here are some tips on how you
can help us!

1. If a baby is not in immediate danger, leave the animal alone
and call or text us. Stay where you can watch the animal while
communicating with the wildlife rehabber. We will assess the
specific situation and determine a plan of action at that time.
2. If a baby is obviously injured or in immediate danger, place
the baby in a breathable box with towels or blankets. Keep in a
It’s that time of year again! The days are getting longer. The air dark, quiet, warm place. Call or text us. Depending on the situ-
is getting warmer. Flowers are blooming, birds are returning, ation, we will tell you how to best keep the baby until the baby
and all creatures are spry. It is spring time, or as we at A Wild is received by our rehab.
Life like to call it, “baby season”, our busiest season. Species 3. Before mowing your lawn, do a sweep over your yard look-
of all kinds begin to give birth to their babies, but sadly many ing for circular, brown patches of grass. These patches could be
of these babies end up in situations that require admission to rabbit nests. If you find a rabbit nest, please call or text us. We
a wildlife rehab center. Some babies become orphans losing will help you keep them safe until they leave the nest, which is
their mothers in predator attacks, hit by vehicle situations, or in a very short four weeks!
loss of their nests from trees being cut down. Some are simply 4. Never try to feed or force feed an animal food or water.
displaced from their mothers during spring time storms. Inju- More harm can be caused if this is attempted. There are things
ries from cat attacks are frequently seen. It is also common that the rehabber needs to do first before attempting food and
for eastern cottontail rabbits to become injured by landscaping water. By forcing food or water it decreases the rehabber’s
equipment as their mothers oftentimes build nests in the open chance of helping the animal. It could also potentially cause
grasses of lawns. The warm hearts of humans can sometimes unnecessary damage not related to the initial cause of trouble.
be a danger to these babies as they mistakenly kidnap the ba- 5. Please don’t try to do it yourself. Wildlife rehabilitation
bies thinking they are orphaned or wrongly judge the animals’ takes training, experience, and a state or federal license. We
behavior and believe it to be in trouble. When babies arrive to are here to help you help them.
our rehab, they usually come in multiple numbers at once. For
example, one litter of baby possums typically brings in seven to Please contact us at 910-225-0732 or 910-876-7688 via phone
nine joeys. However, A Wild Life has seen as many as thirteen call or text. We especially welcome text messages with infor-
joeys in one litter. Baby cottontails and squirrels usually aver- mation about the animal you have found, the city you are lo-
age about five kits per litter. cated, and a picture of the animal. We are always thankful for
donations from our supporters as we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit
Although, A Wild Life transfers songbirds to a full-time bird organization and we solely rely on donations to help keep us
rescue, the number of baby birds that enter our doors is almost saving wildlife. For more information regarding how donations
impossible to even count. With multiple calls per day, it is easy can be made, please contact the numbers listed above or mail/
to see how the total number of patients can rise astronomical- drop off donations at 6422 Seventh Street Rd. Lumberton, NC
ly in a matter of one or two days. A Wild Life’s rehabilitators 28358.

Page 48 Robeson Living ~ Spring 2022