Rehabbed & Released: A Day in the Life of a Wildlife Rescue

Rehabbed & Released: A Day in the Life of a Wildlife Rescue

By: Katie Bigley 

Critter Care is a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center in Mendon, a little town just outside Quincy, IL. Owned by Bill and his wife, they have always been known to help wildlife. In 2018, they decided to make it official and reach out to the Illinois Department of Conservation to obtain their license to rescue and rehabilitate animals in Illinois. Once they received their license, Critter Care became official! Bill explains that becoming certified to rehab wild animals is quite a process. Once you obtain your certification, you have to follow the rules and regulations set by the Department of Conservations I will come out and do checks of the property to make sure you have an adequate setup for the animals you are taking in. 

I was curious to know the variety of animals Bill may see come into his care, so I asked him what kind of wildlife he sees the most often and if there are any common illnesses or injuries he sees the most. “We are licensed to take in any wild animal in the state of Illinois, our license even says black bear and elk on it, but mostly we get opossums, raccoons, squirrels, deer, skunks, rabbits, oh gosh, bobcats, if I’ve missed anything there. But we get just about everything you can think of,” Bill says.

When it comes to why the animal is being brought to Critter Care, Bill says most of the time it is because the animal has been orphaned or believed to be orphaned. This means that the animals are usually very young and require around-the-clock care when it comes to feeding and building their strength. Bill mentions that if they receive an injured or sick animal, it’s usually a different process because there is no veterinary service close by that will work with wild animals. “If we had something that needed that type of treatment, a surgery of some sort or something we’d have to take it clear to the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL, but most of ours are just orphaned where they need some care, some feed, and some safety until they are big enough to be released,” Bill says. 

You might be wondering what a typical day looks like at a wildlife rehab center considering the variety of wild animals they care for, so I asked Bill if he could share what Critter Care does daily. 

Bill says that it just depends on what time of the year it is. Certain times of the year like the summer months tend to be their busiest, most demanding time of year. “June into July very, very busy. We might have up to 50 animals here, so it gets kind of hectic,” Bill says. With that many animals in their care during the peak season, Bill and his wife stay busy all hours of the day and night caring for the animals.

 “Generally, each animal has a schedule of when they need to be fed, we’ve just learned this over time what’s best for the animals.” The day starts very early at Critter Care as Bill and his wife will have to wake up early to start making bottles of milk replacer for each of the animals, feed them, and then go back into the house and wash and sterilize all of the bottles so they are ready for the next feeding. For animals like baby squirrels, possums, or raccoons, when they are so young they need to be fed every two hours! “You’re getting up all hours of the night and you keep feeding them, then as they get bigger, they get fed less often during the day but it’s just all day, every day like that and we just try to make a schedule,” Bill says.

With a feeding schedule so demanding for the baby animals, Bill shares with me that it’s very important for him and his wife to have a set routine and share the responsibilities, trading duties on and off as you could imagine waking up every two hours throughout the night can catch up to you. Thankfully, Bill’s daughter lives in the house next door and occasionally Bill will have her step in to help during their peak season.

The goal of Critter Care is to always get the animals healthy and strong enough to be released back into the wild where they belong. So, I asked Bill how he and his wife determine when an animal is ready to be released. “It’s pretty much a judgment call on us when we’re thinking that they’re big enough, that they can survive,” Bill says. Bill also shares that he and his wife do extensive research on the animals that come into their care. “We research when they would have left their parents if they were out in the wild, to go on their own and we try to go about it like that. But when we feel it’s safe really.”

I asked Bill for some advice on what someone should do if they come across a sick, injured, or orphaned animal and what the signs are that a wild animal needs human intervention. Bill’s advice is if you come across an animal that you think needs help, the best thing you can do is just leave it be. It’s technically illegal to possess or interfere with a wild animal. “The best thing is you can call the sheriff’s department in Adams County; they have an animal person. Also, the Department of Conservation Police through the Illinois State Police, you can call them get a message to them, what you’ve found and what you’re dealing with,” Bill says.  When contacting the Department of Conservation or the sheriff’s department, they may permit you to go ahead and take the animal to a rehab center like Critter Care.

“You gotta be very careful 'cause even an animal that’s just kind of sick or little, you don’t think it’s a big deal, it can be harmful. Baby raccoons for instance are vicious sometimes when it doesn’t want to be handled or it’s scared so the best thing honestly is to just leave it alone,” Bill mentioned. So, if you come across an animal you think may need some help, follow Bill’s advice and leave it be while you reach out to your sheriff’s office for more direction on what to do. Always be cautious around wild animals and never put yourself or the animal in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation. 

Bill also shares that most of the animals they get calls about, where people think the animal needs help – most of the time the animal doesn’t need help. “Their mom isn’t with them, but she’ll get back to them,” Bill says. For example, a female deer will take her baby and oftentimes put it close to a house or somewhere in a yard where you might not expect it, and she’ll leave it there because she knows it’s safe and won’t be hurt. While it might be alarming to see a baby deer all alone, usually there is no reason for concern as the mom will come back for it. “We’ve coached many people on different animals, how to just put it right back where they found it and once we tell them what’s going to happen, they watch it and usually that mama deer will come back that evening and get that baby deer back, lick it and take it on its way,” Bill says. 

Bill also mentions that squirrels are the same way. If you find a squirrel that has been blown out of a tree, the best thing to do is to put it in a basket by the tree and the mom squirrel will hear the baby’s cry and come to find them to carry them back up into the tree. “Any animal, their chances are a lot greater of survival if they’re with their parents, so we try to get them back with their parents,” Bill adds. 

To wrap up my time with Bill at Critter Care, I asked him what some simple things are that people can do to help wildlife in their communities. The number one way to help the wildlife in your area is to donate to any kind of rehab center that might be in your community or surrounding area. Whether you choose to donate financially or through supplies, any support makes all the difference. 

“No matter who’s doing it, it just takes a ton, not only of time but money. It is very, very expensive. We spend $6,000-$8,000 a year just on feed, that’s not medicines or anything like that just feed,” Bill says. Critter Care is lucky enough to have partnered with the Mississippi River Valley Hunters and Fishermen's Association after they became aware not only of the amazing work Critter Care does but the cost associated with it. This partnership allows Critter Care to receive help when it comes to purchasing the feed for the animals in their care. “They only do that because people donate to them also so that’s probably the best way is just educate yourself on the animals and then donate if you can.” Bill says

A big thank you to Critter Care and Bill for being a part of this blog!!

 

 Critter Care Licensed Wildlife Rehab

Mendon, IL

217-242-4054

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/p/Critter-Care-Licensed-Wildlife-Rehab-100071631519068/

 

Mississippi Valley Hunters and Fishermen Association

Quincy, IL

Website: https://mvhfa.org/

 

Illinois Department of Conservation

Website: https://dnr.illinois.gov/conservation.html