What to do when you come across a sick or injured wild animal

Although this blog is mainly about domesticated pets I occasionally write about wildlife issues. Today a friend and I encountered something that we never experienced before. As we were walking across the street we came across a sick/injured crow. Normally such birds will fly away but something was not at all right with this bird. It just sat there, spanned its wings in and out and had what seemed like a seizure to me. So we decided that we should try and call a local wildlife rescue.

In my research I came across a local organization called Valley Wildlife Care. When thinking of wildlife refuges I think of extremely remote places but this group is in the Valley and serves the Valley and beyond. Volunteers at this non-profit organization rescue wild birds, cats, coyotes, deer, rabbits...every wild thing you could imagine. And they're very efficient too. Someone called me back within minutes and gave me information on a specific person who deals with crows. Unfortunately it was too late in my case. By the time I came back to the crow with a box it was dead. But at least I tried. I don't think it would have survived though. Something was really wrong with it.

But now I know what to do and who to contact if another event like this arises. To contact the organization call Brenda Varvarigos at: (818) 346-8247 or email her at valleywildlife@aim.com. She or another volunteer can answer any questions you might have. And of course you should visit their website (yeah I know the website is posted twice but I really want you to get the information...even if that means having two chances to click the same website).

I also came across a plethora of information on how to handle injured/sick wild animals. First of all NEVER try to take care of them yourselves. Regular people tend to think that they can help rehabilitate wild animals themselves when they don't have the proper knowledge or resources. The best thing to do would be to put them in a box (if you can without getting scratched or bitten), make them as comfortable as you can and get them to a wildlife center or a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Click Here for more animal emergency information. You may also call the California Wildlife Center's emergency hotline at 310-458-WILD(9453). And you can call their animal hospital during the day at (818) 591-9453. For full contact information click here!