Call To Action: Giving Back to Wildlife
11/7/09
By Lisa Selvaggio
Everyone has seen a wild animal dead in the middle of a busy street and witnessed human encroachment into wildlife habitats. There is a huge disconnect between the need to conserve wild space and the need to build more homes and businesses. In most cases, it is always the animals that suffer most, that are pushed back so that we can gain more ground and build our newest office or housing complex or shopping center. But there are things that people can do to give back, to make a positive difference in the lives of wildlife in their respective areas. Whether it means helping birds, small mammals, or predators, taking the time to volunteer for, or donate to, a wildlife rehabilitation center is one of the best ways to reduce our negative impact upon the animals that call our neighborhoods home just as much as we do.
A couple of years ago, I found myself in an outdoor enclosure filled with several raccoons at a wildlife rehab center. As I cleaned, keeping them distracted with food I’d prepared before entering, I was at once thrilled and afraid. Their chirps and mannerisms made me giggle, and even though I felt like I desperately needed a shower afterwards, I can say it was an up-close-and-personal encounter with an animal I’d usually only seen from afar. My favorite memory, though, was being able to feed baby squirrels who had not yet been weaned, whose eyes were not yet open. The squirming orphan in my hands drank formula from a plastic syringe. I realized right away the incredible work this center was doing for animals ranging from bats to rabbits; animals that so many people encounter yet perceive as pests that need to be removed. I was finally giving back, after seeing so many dead in the road or caught in cages to be removed from neighbors’ yards.
The center that I volunteer at is a small non-profit called South Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, but there are rehab centers everywhere, some of which deal with small wildlife, others that handle birds, and still others that care for everything from foxes to deer. They are everywhere because wild animals are in need everywhere, they are hurt directly and indirectly by people everywhere, and there are endangered species everywhere.
The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association has a website with a wealth of information on wildlife rehabilitation, along with a link to find a center in your area at which you can become involved, even if it’s just a donation of money or supplies. Whether you decide to volunteer to help raise funds or help in a hands-on way like I did, giving back is the important part. Allowing these myriad species of wildlife to thrive will permit them to continue bringing pleasure to our existence and to future generations. These animals play integral parts in the Earth’s delicate ecosystems, and we should give back, since we’ve already taken so much away.