Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation

07/11/2025

Sandy’s last mammal guest of the year. He has moved to the next stage of his life

03/11/2025

Picture at top - a small possum we took in on September 24. He came in covered in fleas (over 200!), and was so anemic that his gums were white. His prognosis wasn't good.

Today - the same possum! His fur has grown in, he has tripled in size, and he'll be released as soon as he's 7" long, not including his tail. ❤️

We can't do this without your support! One of the best ways to show up for BWR? Come to the Tap House fundraiser on November 13! Details are here: https://facebook.com/events/s/bidwell-wildlife-rehab-fundrai/1021219173462833/

07/10/2025

Squirrel zen - here are two sweet squirrel brothers, eating one of their favorite snacks, a grape!

These teenage squirrels are just about weaned, and will be moved to an outdoor cage very soon! They’ll spend a few weeks in the outdoor cage, then the door will be open, and they can come and go to live a wild life. We love these babies, and we are also so glad that fall is here, as things will finally start to slow down for us! ❤️🐿️😴

06/10/2025

We have a favor to ask from all wildlife- and tree-loving people out there! If you have tree work that needs to be done, the BEST time to get it done in terms of helping wildlife is now through January!

Wildlife babies are born during the warmer months, and once fall rolls around most babies born during the spring/summer are weaned and on their way to being on their own. Tree-living wildlife mamas will start making their nests in February/March.

To keep those babies healthy and in the trees, the cold months are the best time to get your trees trimmed! ❤️🌳🐣🐿️❤️

05/10/2025

It's finally October - baby wildlife season is nearly coming to an end! We are tired, and very happy about this!

We still have dozens of babies in our care though, mammals and birds, including these 3 sweet possum babies. They came to us last week, and we'll raise them until they are old enough to be released to a wild life. We love possums!

Recently, our friends at the Department of Fish and Wildlife brought us this sweet raccoon baby. It's so late in the year for raccoon babies, but nature likes to throw us a curveball once in awhile!

It's very important for raccoon babies to be raised with other raccoons. Since we don't have any in our care right now, we were able to transfer this raccoon to our amazing friends at Wildlife Care Association of Sacramento. They are amazing, give them a follow! ❤️🦝

He'll be raised with other raccoon babies, and they'll form a family unit and be released together when old enough. We love collaboration! Thank you Wildlife Care Association for helping us out, and for helping this sweet baby!

29/09/2025

“Have you seen the stories about the squirrel attacking people in San Rafael?!?”

We sure have! Many of you have tagged us in those stories, wondering why this is happening. While we can’t say for sure, there is speculation that this squirrel was hand raised by humans.

We agree that this is a strong possibility! Squirrels that are raised by humans and not properly socialized to other squirrels will end up thinking that humans are a source of food and may try to approach them for help, leading to bites, scratches, and possible hospital visits as in this case.

This is so easily prevented! If you find a baby squirrel, please do not try to raise it yourself as a pet! Squirrels make terrible pets, despite what your friends or acquaintances may try to tell you. It’s also illegal to keep wildlife as pets without the appropriate permits, which is important for everyone’s safety! 

If you find a baby squirrel, we ask you to please turn that baby over to your local wildlife rehabilitation group. Our volunteers are trained in how to raise these babies and NOT socialize them, so that once they are released, they remain wild and appropriately fearful of humans.


"This is beautiful, now it's following us, until she almost killed me," said a victim of the squirrel attack.

23/09/2025

Keeping your feeders up has no influence on whether a bird will start its journey south. A number of factors trigger the urge for birds to migrate, and the most significant one is day length. As days grow shorter in late summer, birds get restless and start to head south, taking advantage of abundan

30/08/2025

Why is this vocal little baby raccoon just hanging out in a cardboard box lid? He’s waiting for his first bath! This cute little boy was brought to us on Tuesday by our friends at Chico Animal Control.

He was found near Big Chico Creek, and he was not in good shape. His mama and siblings were nowhere in sight, and even worse, he was covered in fly eggs and fleas. 💔 An infestation of fly eggs is called fly strike/myasis, and it is bad news. 🚫🪰🚫

After a bath, lots of grooming with a flea comb, and some Pedialyte, he was happy to sleep soundly on a nice warm heating pad while waiting for his next adventure. 🦝❤️

27/08/2025