Wildlife Wishing Well of Ithaca

08/15/2024

We are settling into a routine with our juveniles and working toward release, as soon as their vaccinations are done. We vaccinate for rabies, parvo and distemper. Some of those are a series of shots, just like you'd get for a puppy or a kitten. We are very grateful for our cooperating veterinarian who helps out with that and with other diagnostics and treatment.

I'll post this video with no comment other than.OH BEHAVE! 🤣🤣

07/23/2024

Hey friends! Are you or someone you know interested in becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator? The NYS DEC has announced that the next test will be on August 9. The deadline to register is August 7. There are no fees involved, the test is online and can be done on your own schedule during the specified time frame. LINK IN THE COMMENTS.

If you're interested in an assistant license to start with, scroll further on that link. This option *must* be done by and under the supervision of a Class II rehabber, who submits your name and requests a license.

We at Wildlife Wishing Well are a Rabies Vector Species facility. That license has a few extra requirements (also in the link). But the initial test is the same, so if that's your goal you should take the regular license test and review the other requirements.

Meanwhile, here's one of our juveniles...she is a real cutie, no? Her name is Chloe.

07/02/2024

This is one of our singlet orphans who recently made a full recovery from the disease cryptosporidiosis, or "crypto" as we sometimes call it. It is a parasitic disease, treatable, but it can kill babies with a weak immune system, which can often be the case with orphans who don't receive immunity from their mother's milk.

We took her out for some exercise and sunshine today. Look at her go! She's a little wobbly but she will gain strength every day as we work with her. I can tell you that she's fierce and determined. ❤️🦝❤️

06/25/2024

Volume up for the happy sound of a baby raccoon getting some exercise on a lovely early summer day! Wildlife rehabbing can be serious, even heartbreaking at times....but it can also be joyous and fun. At this age, the baby will not run away. She is dependent on us and will follow us around like this, wanting to stay close. She is strong and surprisingly fast. You can hear our volunteer Steve in the background trying to coach me (not the raccoon) so I don't trip over her 🤣 and yes she sounds like a piglet 🤣❤️🦝

If you're interested in volunteering HMU in messenger!

06/18/2024

Don't listen to her. The AC is on in the nursery.

But please do tend to your pets, your livestock and your mee-maw.*

*approach with caution, Mee-maw gets cranky in the heat 🙃🫠

❤️🐕❤️🦊❤️🥵❤️🐄❤️🐎❤️😽❤️🦝

06/12/2024

Good afternoon, friends! If you follow any other wildlife rehabber pages, you'll know just how busy we all are this time of year. I had hoped not to have to make the same post, but here we are.

Most if not all wildlife rehabs are at capacity right now, and yes, sometimes we have to say no to people. Sometimes we cannot even return phone calls quickly because we are so swamped. The phone rings non stop day and night, not just to the facility itself but to us individually on our cell phones. This is especially true of Rabies Vector Species rehabbers. Our training is longer, has more requirements for care and housing, and arguably has more risks...so there are far fewer of us than regular non RVS rehabbers.

We feel for every. single. animal. that we get calls about. Unfortunately, we cannot help them all, as badly as we want to. I would like you to take a moment to understand why that is. First, we have an obligation to not take in more animals than we can care for properly. That includes time, money and space. We are ALL volunteers and many of us have families, jobs or other personal situations that prevent us from doing this full time or at a larger scale. Even if we had all the resources in the world, we have to consider several other things when deciding whether to accept an animal. Disease is a big one; raccoons can carry not only rabies, but canine/feline distemper and parvo, and innumerable other things that can be contagious to humans, pets and other wildlife. If we have a population of healthy babies we may put them all at risk by bringing in a sick animal, even if we take every possible precaution of quarantine and disinfection. An outbreak of those diseases could kill even the healthy babies, most of whom were orphaned and did not receive the full natural immune system from their mother's milk before she was gone.

Please be kind when calling around and please try to understand if you don't get a call or email back from everyone. Our hearts break enough when we have to say no, and it brings me to tears when people leave messages like, "You are failing the animals left and right" which someone did to me today.

If you care as much as we do and want to help us do better, a donation to your favorite rehabber is never out of place. If you want to learn more about volunteering, we can talk to you about that as well. Meanwhile, please try to remember that the animals we do take in are being given a chance they would not have had otherwise. We can't destroy that by taking on more than we can handle.

Love to you all, and here's a cute photo to hopefully cheer up this post!

05/21/2024

This litter of 5 was admitted recently. So far they are doing great! Once the bottle feeding, cleaning and other chores are done at the wildlife rehab, we will work on their skills (as if it's really work!)

Like all mammals, their play behavior mimics future adult skills. Play also builds strength and coordination, and gives them learning activities where they can practice without being at risk of harm. A little tumble off the igloo doesn't injure them, and they will learn from it, like a human child falling off a bike and getting up to try again until they master it.

05/15/2024

New friends and an old friend! We have a litter of three baby raccoons who are learning quickly how to enjoy formula from a bottle. They are eating well and are energetic! We also had a visit from Marshmallow, one of the overwintering juveniles we released earlier this spring. She popped into the pre-release building as one of our rehabbers was entering. She enjoyed a free meal and some water. She is looking gorgeous. We'd know her anywhere! When we do what's called "soft release" it means they are released but can come and go as they please. We offer them support as they transition to being fully wild. She'll be fine ❤️🦝❤️

04/29/2024

Wildlife rehabbing is a team effort. We network with rehabbers all over the state to make sure we connect wildlife with the best resources for their needs. This orphaned baby gray squirrel never came through Wildlife Wishing Well, but I'm posting these because it isn't all about us. It's about everyone working together. Myself and another rehabber have been caring for her while we reach out to the network to try and find a rehabber with another singlet squirrel baby of the same age. They do better if they can be with others of their species. She's still not weaned and she requires round the clock attention.

We are all in this together with a common goal to do the best we can for wildlife.

04/14/2024

Just a friendly reminder that it's baby season and it is not considered unusual to see wildlife out hunting during the day, even species that are normally nocturnal. It does not mean they have rabies. It takes a lot of energy to nurse and to feed growing babies!

These photos were taken by me, today. This red fox is likely heading back to a den nearby. You'll see foxes carry prey in their mouths and they'll also carry their kits that way. While I cannot tell exactly what kind of animal the fox is carrying, it's probably not from that farm since that's a horse farm, no small livestock there that I know of. If you're a farmer, make sure your livestock is secured properly to deter hungry critters.
❤️🦝🦨🦊❤️

03/28/2024

Attention all wildlife lovers! Baby season is almost upon us...would you like to try out this very rewarding activity? We are always interested in new volunteers!

The wildlife rehabber exam is coming up in April. There is no fee for the exam, which is online. You must be 16 years or older. The deadline to apply for the test is April 10, with the exam being on April 12. Details can be found at the link below. Scroll down to the part that says "register online" and then scroll on to the study guides and practice tests.

This is for your general wildlife rehabber license. If you are interested in working with Rabies Vector Species (skunks, raccoons and bats) there is information on there about that too. We can start you out with an RVS assistant license while you learn from us (with supervision) and decide whether you want to get that level of license.

This license authorizes a New York resident to rehabilitate or care for injured or young orphaned wildlife for their return back to the wild.

03/28/2024

I thought you all might like my new slippers!

03/17/2024

With the weather improving we've moved Enzo, Marshmallow and Graham into the pre-release building! This was taken on their second day there, and no, you're not imagining some appearance of anxiety with the two hiding behind Graham. The transition can be stressful at first, but that's exactly why we do pre-release as opposed to just releasing them fully. It gives them a chance to get used to the natural changes in outdoor light and temperatures, and a chance to adjust to less contact from us. Graham was always the more outgoing. The other two being shy isn't necessarily a bad thing. We don't want them to be too friendly around humans. Stay tuned!

02/07/2024

We're in a holding pattern with our three overwintering juveniles, but hopefully in a month or so they'll be headed for the pre-release stage! Spring is coming! All 3 are happy and healthy. They're all in winter mode: they sleep a lot and their metabolism has slowed. In the wild they'd be in torpor, largely living off their fat stores but coming out occasionally to forage. They won't refuse a treat though!

01/20/2024

A little placeholder during the off season. This bobcat knows the ice isn't gonna hold and he's a cat so basically does the cat thing. ❤️❤️❤️

97.2K likes, 706 comments. “ Gabella Jewelry”

01/12/2024

Our fellow rehabber friend Cheryl Cox got this video down pat!

Networking is a crucial part of wildlife rehabbing. We talk to each other a lot, share referrals and wisdom, and rely on all of us to sort out who has the right space, resources and time to best care for the wildlife in need. The first thing I learned about rehabbing is that no one can do it alone.

We know it can be frustrating for the public to call many rehabbers and not always get a call back. Most often we are working behind the scenes amongst ourselves to triage and refer. Please be patient while we do that. ❤️🦝❤️

Peetey is not releasable so Cheryl has a special permit to keep him.

52 likes, 4 comments. “ ”

01/10/2024

A little winter raccooning for your viewing pleasure. Did you know that raccoons are similar to bears in that they go into torpor in winter instead of true hibernation?

Torpor is a state of slowed metabolism and lots of sleep...sound familiar lol? They will wake up and venture out to forage sometimes. Our overwintering juveniles fattened up this fall with the best of us, and have gorgeous winter coats!

Remember that we humans are animals and despite living in this modern world we have thousands of years of evolutionary adaptations.

Check out Abi Ragnarsdottir's video.

12/20/2023

[Sound on]

You got me there, Graham! 🤣

Best wishes and blessings for your holidays, from Wildlife Wishing Well to you. Thanks for your ongoing love and support ❤️🦝❤️

12/06/2023

One of my friends is singing this version of the classic Talking Heads song. It seemed to fit with the video. We all know raccoons are a bit psycho
🤣🤣❤️🦝❤️

11/15/2023

Say hello to one of our overwintering juveniles.
❤️🦝❤️🦝❤️

11/14/2023

Well, hello everyone! I know we haven't posted in a while. I was out of town for several weeks for family stuff. Here, have this placeholder while I get you some new videos of the three raccoons we are overwintering. ❤️🦝❤️🦝❤️

PS he totally took the last raccoon and then your Doritos got stuck in the machine.

08/02/2023

While it's not technically true that raccoons wash their food, they are called "raton laveur" in Canadian French. It means "washing rat." Older generations in Quebec used to call the raccoon "chat sauvage" which means "wild cat" or "savage cat."

They are neither rats nor cats, of course! But when they "wash" their food in water, it is believed that the water helps their very sensitive paws to feel more tactile input. Even with no water to "wash" it in, they will still put a great amount of effort into appreciating their food via touch. To the point it turns to crumbs, as you can see here 😁😁

(Sincerely, your admin who grew up on the border)

07/26/2023

The wildlife rehab truck needed inspection but it also needed to be driven about 50 miles before the NYS emissions inspection could occur. We deal with orphans and wildlife in distress. How lovely it was to see healthy wildlife in the wild as I drove the truck around Shindagin Hollow state forest. You'll see a pair of grebes, a woodchuck, a ruffed grouse and a red fox. Healthy wildlife in the wild is our ultimate passion!

07/19/2023

Say it with me, friends. It's not the heat, it's the humidity. One of our babies is finding out the hard way that mini marshmallows stick together in this weather.

We are sure he will sort this out. ❤️🦝❤️🤣🤣

07/11/2023

Meet Rocket! He just joined us this week. He is getting used to us humans and in this video he gets his first toy. Raccoons have incredibly sensitive paws with many times more nerve endings than our own hands. Their sense of touch sets them apart from other animals. They love to touch everything and they explore with their mouth as well. They are very intelligent and need constant mental stimulation and challenges.

06/21/2023

Welcome to another little guy, this one a singlet. The boss said, "Pick him up, give him some love." No problem! All mammals need snuggling, warmth and nurturing especially those with no mama or siblings. We confess, it's not the worst part of the job. Volume up for the purring at the end! ❤️🦝❤️

06/14/2023

We don't often post two days in a row. But this litter of two also arrived in the last week. This level of cuteness must surely be illegal!

We dubbed these two the Teddy Bears because they look like little stuffed animals! Trust me though...they have a healthy wild streak and some pointy teeth and claws, unlike your average childhood teddy bear.

❤️🦝❤️😁😁

06/14/2023

Please welcome one of our new litters! They came to us from Chenango County after the finder discovered that the mama had been hit by a car. The babies were nearby so the very kind human brought them to us.

When you've been doing this a while you develop a sense of what babies will thrive. Call it the "X factor" if you will. They have it.

06/07/2023

Raccoons are superb climbers! Did you know that they can turn their hind feet around backwards to help them climb down a tree headfirst? (Unlike cats...ahem).

The litter of 4 is strong and has great climbing skills. They love the chance to exercise and explore. It's a joy watching them learn.

05/30/2023

Oh my! It almost looks like this video is in fast motion, but that's just how a hungry baby eats his food at this age! Volume up for superb crunching sounds!

😁😁😁😁😁🦝❤️🦝❤️