Camp Wildernest is among the wildlife rehabilitation centers in Chattanooga that help animals in need heal and return to the wild.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Now is a time of year when many species of wildlife are having babies, and it’s also a time when humans often come across orphaned, sick or injured wild animals.
“This is really our peak season, because baby season is when people tend to go out trimming trees and encounter birds,” said Mary Marr, songbird keeper at Camp Wildernest. “Sometimes birds that are just learning to fly, people think they are hurt or injured, but in reality, their parents are nearby and they are just in the process of learning to bird watch.”
Camp Wildernest is among the wildlife rehabilitation centers in Chattanooga that help animals in need heal and return to the wild. Their efforts focus on songbirds, turtles, flying squirrels, and chipmunks.
At Opie Acres, founder Jerry Harvey specializes in possum rehabilitation. He currently cares for 128 of the nocturnal creatures, which have poor eyesight and are prone to being hit by cars.
He also has nine raccoons, 13 skunks of various sizes, two groundhogs, and a weasel. Harvey will also accept other animals, such as bobcats and deer, until they can be transported somewhere where they can be better cared for.
The only animals you can’t take according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are coyotes, which are considered “nuisance animals”; bats, which tend to spread rabies; and armadillos, which are an invasive species.
Kate Kinnear of the Marshall Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center focuses on squirrels and rabbits.
Camp Wildernest is an offshoot of Happinest, a Signal Mountain rehabilitation center run by Alix Parks that focuses on birds of prey.
“A wildlife rehabilitator will always be better able to focus on one or two things, rather than everything,” Marr said. “That gets a little difficult with regards to volunteer training and general care.”
While spring and summer are the busiest seasons at Camp Wildernest, cat-trapped birds are frequently brought to the center year-round.
“All the volunteers here love cats,” Marr said. “It’s just safer for the cat and the birds when the cats are kept indoors.”
Aside from cats, another common danger to birds is getting caught in sticky traps that people set to catch mice and insects.
Sticky traps are an inhumane way to kill animals, which slowly die as they struggle to free themselves, he said.
When a bird sees an insect in a sticky trap, the bird tries to eat it and gets stuck too. Birds will seriously injure themselves trying to free themselves, and those released by rehabilitators must be bathed several times to remove the glue. Every time a bird is touched by a human, it causes more trauma, he said.
Instead of sticky traps, Marr suggests two-door live animal cage traps, like those from Havahart, which are available at Tractor Supply Co., Home Depot and Amazon.
He also recommends companies like Mosquito Joe that provide all-natural outdoor pest control. Even putting peppermint oil around a home’s baseboards can be helpful in deterring pests, he said.
“I know a lot of people have a problem and they want a solution right away,” Marr said. “Sometimes there are things you can do that would still be successful and maybe take a little more than just going to Lowe’s to figure out exactly what to do, but you can always call us if you have a question about something like that. .”
Wildlife safety is one of many reasons to avoid littering, as litter can attract animals like possums onto the road, Harvey said.
In this region, opossums have two calving seasons a year: one in late February and early March, and another in late June and early July.
If people come into contact with a baby opossum, raccoon, or other small mammal, the first thing a human must remember is to avoid injury.
“Baby opossums are pretty much harmless for the most part,” Harvey said. “A baby raccoon can surprisingly take a good bite.”
Most of the baby animals that people find are easy to pick up with a cloth and put them in a box. If the animal is defensive, gardening gloves may be needed to protect it, or a broom can be used to sweep the animal into a carrier or cat box, he said.
Once confined, it can be transported to wildlife rehabilitation centers, which sometimes have volunteers who can provide transportation.
The most important thing to know is to never feed the animal.
“Wild animals’ diets are so species-specific that giving them the wrong thing once can kill them,” Harvey said.
People who find a tortoise on the road can help it cross to the other side if it can be done safely, Marr said.
People who come across a baby bird in their garden should leave it alone to see if its mother, who is better equipped to care for it, returns, as long as there is a fence to keep out other animals that might harm it.
Or a laundry basket with a towel or blanket can be placed over the bird to keep it safe. The mother will appear often. If she doesn’t, Camp Wildernest can take over from there.
While 128 might seem like a lot of possums, there are times when Harvey has cared about a lot more than that. Last year, about 800 opossums were rehabilitated at Opie Acres.
“We’ve had to limit our intake this year because we’re so short on volunteers,” Harvey said.
Camp Wildernest also needs volunteers, and both rehabilitation centers provide volunteer training. For more information, contact the various centers, which are nonprofit organizations that run on donations from volunteers.