Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine
A barn owlet is held during a checkup last month in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. The owlet was placed with two others in a hack box — a housing designed to give baby owls a safe place to live and be fed until they can leave and fly on their own — at the WSU Horticulture Center near Pullman.
Sometimes the best way to be a hero is to do nothing at all.
Those baby bunnies in your lawn might need rescuing — but more than likely their mother is close by and will return to feed them soon. That’s one reason Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine professor Dr. Marcie Logsdon urges would-be rescuers to call before scooping up “abandoned” wildlife.
Logsdon, a veterinarian and licensed wildlife rehabilitator, took time from a recent day of caring for both pets and wild animals at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman to talk about how community members can help — without inadvertently kidnapping healthy babies.
“Mom always does best,” Logsdon said. “We do the best that we can if we have a truly orphaned animal, but we are no substitute for an orphan’s mom.”
Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine
A baby squirrel, thought to be about 1 month old, is fed formula with a syringe in October 2024, in the exotics department of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. Squirrels have litters twice a year, and fall babies can get dislodged from nests during wind storms or other weather events, which leads to a high number of the bushy-tailed critters being brought to the VTH for feeding and rehabilitation before being released into the wild this time of year.
Fawns are another young animal people often mistakenly assume are abandoned, she said. Does feed their fawns only a few times over the course of a day, so seeing a fawn alone isn’t unusual. If a fawn is curled up in a ball, it’s generally fine, she said. If it’s up and around and crying, it could just be trying to call its mom back. If it’s lying flat on its side, you see blood or it’s attracting flies, it might need help.
Her advice is to keep dogs, kids and other people away and observe from a distance. The mother deer might be watching and waiting for an opportunity to return safely.
Babies at the WSU Wildlife Rehabilitation Center that can’t be reunited with their parents sometimes can be “grafted” to wild foster families, Logsdon said, which recently was the case for a great horned owlet that became baby No. 4 for a wild great horned owl family.
“We also do it pretty heavily with (Canada goose) goslings,” she said. “It’s a really nice win kind of all the way around.”
Mary Stone/Inland 360
A red-tailed hawk was among the patients at WSU’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Pullman recently. It did not appear to enjoy being dosed with medication, but its handlers expertly restrained it for the brief treatment.
If you find an animal that’s clearly in need of help and establish that it needs to go to WSU, you’ll likely need to take it there yourself or find someone who can. The vast majority of animals there are brought in by the good Samaritans who find them, Logsdon said, because the rehabilitation center doesn’t have the capacity to offer long-distance rescues or transports.
Logsdon encourages community members to start with a hands-off approach when it comes to assisting wildlife, but there are plenty of roles for humans even if the fawn you find isn’t an orphan after all.
Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine
A coyote pup rests in a box while being cared for last month at Washington State University’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. The rehabilitation center, which cares for hundreds of animals each year, had an American kestrel fledgling, two chimpmunks, an osprey, a striped skunk and three fledgling barn owls among the nearly two dozen animals in its care on a recent day.
The WSU Wildlife Rehabilitation Center cares for hundreds of injured or orphaned animals each year, and the numbers are growing. The center had its biggest year ever two years ago, with more than 600 patients, and last year, after a wildlife rehabilitation center near the Tri-Cities closed, WSU treated more than 1,000 wildlife patients.
That means an increased need for both funding and volunteers.
“All of our work with wildlife at WSU is funded by community donors,” Logsdon said. “So volunteers are essential to make sure we have enough staffing to take care of all the animals who come in to us.”
Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine
A baby skunk that weighs about 7 ounces is held during a checkup last month in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. The skunk will likely be cared for until it is old enough to be released back into the wild.
A recent call for volunteers was successful, she said, but anyone still interested “should definitely reach out.” Volunteers — community members and students — help with cleaning enclosures, hand-feeding orphaned animals and helping with handling and exams.
Anyone who finds injured or orphaned wildlife can call (509) 595-7006 24/7 for advice about how to proceed. The line is staffed by WSU employees and, starting this year, student volunteers.
Stone (she/her) can be contacted at mstone@inland360.com.
