06/04/2025
This information is as relevant today as the day it was posted. Please, read and consider this if you encounter wildlife that needs help.
Please take this seriously:
Please please understand that when we give instructions/advice, there’s a reason behind every word. If you find injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife, do not handle/pet. Do not feed. Do not give water. If you have the animal contained, put it in a ventilated box/container and keep it in a dark quiet area away from pets and people. Then reach out for help. Don’t do anything else unless instructed to do so by a rehabber…not your neighbor, not Google, or someone who raised a chipmunk once, but a rehabber or wildlife professional.
Today someone who reached out to GWN for help with a rabies vector species was bitten by the animal. It seemed docile so he reached in to place a bowl of water in the crate and it bit him. GWN had to contact environmental health and the animal was picked up by animal control. It will be euthanized and sent off for rabies testing. If it is positive, the person will go through a series of expensive shots. This is protocol for any RVS animal that bites someone, whether it is exhibiting any symptoms or not.
Do NOT touch a rabies vector species without gloves!! The most common animals to carry rabies are bats, raccoons, skunks, & foxes but this doesn’t mean they all have rabies. All animals can carry mites, fleas, & diseases so wear gloves anyway. And unless you are actually Snow White, a wild animal that approaches you needs help. Proceed with caution and follow the advice of wildlife professionals.
Facts: Putting water in a birds mouth can literally cause them to choke to death. Not all birds eat worms. Domesticating a fawn by bringing it in your home to “help it” is a death sentence. If you give a baby squirrel or bunny the wrong kind of milk, you can make it so ill that it will take days for a rehabber to stabilize. Baby opossums do not suckle; they are attached to a feeding tube inside their mom so you can’t feed with a bottle. Some animals require rehydration before they can be fed. Turtles live in a 1 mile radius their entire lives. Baby birds can get food lodged in their throat and suffocate. If you use the wrong kind of syringe/nipple and feed a baby animal too fast or too much, it will aspirate and die. Ducklings can drown. You cannot judge if it’s a venomous snake by its head or pupil shape. The animal that you just found doesn’t “like you”, he’s in shock and afraid to move. Baby animals can’t have breast milk. Everything we tell you is for a reason.
If you’re still reading this, thank you. Today was a scary day. We hope our human friend has a clean bill of health. We ❤️ our wildlife and we ❤️ our wildlife loving humans. Today’s incident was avoidable. This post isn’t to criticize; it’s to teach someone who may not know so we can avoid another incident tomorrow.
xoxo, GWN
The Georgia Wildlife Network
Photo is of another raccoon who also sadly had to be euthanized last week. 😞 This work really sucks some days.
