Our wild neighbors need support

According to Janine Bendicksen, wildlife rehabilitation director at Sweetbriar Nature Center, 90 percent of the sick and injured animals brought to them are the result of human interaction. Of these, most are too far gone to be saved.

“Any animal that comes in the door at Sweetbriar is probably at death’s door,” she said.

“We function like a MASH unit,” she continued, referencing the mobile hospital emergency units dispatched to battlefields. “We do initial assessments to determine probable cause of the animal’s condition.  In small animal, veterinary medicine an owner can give some information to help diagnose the problem. A wild animal is unlikely to have that. We look for signs of trauma, possibly from a window or car strike, poisoning, an animal in shock—eyes dilated, unable to stand—puncture wounds from bites or weapons. Then care is administered based upon the assessment.”

Sometimes it can be difficult even for the most experienced rehabbers to figure out the cause of an injury.

“We had a goose degloved, chin to chest, so the muscles were completely exposed,” she said. “We have no idea what happened to it. But it survived.”

So what should someone do if they find a sick or injured wild animal? 

Bendicksen recommends that you not attempt to care for it yourself.  Doing so without training, or delaying to get it to a professional, can result in the animal’s unnecessary suffering or death.

“Put it in a dark box. Keep it warm and call a licensed rehabilitation expert. You can find them on the Animal Help Now site that lists places to take wildlife in need of care,” she said. “Keep on calling. Try more than one, especially in summer when demand is high. Veterinarians are not allowed to treat wildlife.”

Licensing requirements are strict and include many hours of training, apprenticeship and experience.  Rehabbers are not paid during training and there is no degree. They have to continue their education even after fulfilling the requirements for a license by attending conferences and re-submit certification paperwork to New York State to keep it.

“New York State takes an active role and monitors wildlife rehabilitators. Beware the unlicensed ‘rescuers’ posting on social media. That’s more about ego,” she said. “And it’s dumping on actual rehabilitators who follow the rules.”

Adrienne Gillespie, licensed veterinary technician at Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, also emphasized that wild animals are not pets.

“Wild animals do not make good pets because of their natural instincts and destructive behavior,” she said. “I saw a show about a woman who had a pet raccoon and it chewed through her walls, cabinets, made tunnels.”

“She lived in a Southern state that permits having them as pets, but the damage this animal did to her house makes me wonder how much stress this animal was under. 

It’s like a zoo. You see animals in cages pace back and forth for hours. They aren’t meant to be exhibits or pets. And they aren’t meant to be caged. No matter how friendly you make them, they will always have that natural, wild instinct.”

Gillespie pointed to a recent example that got lots of media and public attention.

“A lot of people are criticizing NYS and the Department of Environmental Conservation,” she said. “But the person was warned several times by licensed rehabbers to stop posting the animals on social media.  He didn’t have the licensing required to keep them as ‘education’ animals.  In fact, there was nothing wrong with either animal. He was keeping them as pets. They should have been released.”

Bendicksen is quick to point out that while some people act out of malice—killing an animal because it crosses their lawn, setting glue traps or poisons that kill wildlife indiscriminately—most do not. They genuinely want to help.

“Not all animals make good pets,” she said. “Can it be trained to live inside? It may be cute as a baby, but as it matures and it becomes wilder, does it end up confined to a cage, or abandoned?”

In November, a blind prairie dog, rescued from a hoarding situation, was brought to STAR (Save the Animals Rescue) in Middle Island to undergo evaluation and treatment. 

“We have no history on this animal, so we have no idea what may have happened to her prior to her coming to us. She is undersize and blind,” she said. “She had an upper-respiratory infection, a urinary tract infection, and was very underweight.”

“In general, no one should be keeping these animals as pets. They are basically little groundhogs and they can administer a nasty bite if they aren’t handled with caution. Most of our volunteers have been bitten by the prairie dogs in our care. We have taken in many when they’ve been found abandoned, dumped by owners, or surrendered when they realize their purchase was a mistake and the pet shop won’t allow returns.”

“They are very cute, but they can’t be trusted. They are rodents like hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, squirrels, beaver, whose teeth continue to grow to allow their gnawing and wearing down. They will chew through sheetrock and wood moldings, rip fabric, dig out plants and are not potty trained.”

Sweetbriar’s blog and Instagram posts regularly provide information about wildlife to help people better co-exist with nature.  It is important, Bendicksen said, because too often, encounters between wildlife and humans turn bad.

“In a showdown between a wild animal and a human in the suburbs, the animal almost always loses,” she said.  “The animals always pay the price.”