If you find a sick, injured or orphaned (not all baby wildlife are orphans – read more) wild animal, go to our help page to see what you should do FIRST.  DO NOT try to rescue or treat an animal yourself, but  find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who is trained to care for wildlife. Even though you may think you are rescuing an animal, you may be doing more harm than good.  The following resources may be helpful to you:

NC Wildlife Resource Commission maintains a list of rehabilitators for North Carolina, by county. Click on the county where you found the animal and a list of licensed rehabiliators will appear.  If no one is listed in your county, try the county closest to you or call Piedmont Wildlife Center at 919-489-0900 and we’ll try to find the closest caregiver to your location.

Wildlife Welfare maintains a network of rehabilitators in the Wake County area.  919-387-1662

CLAWS rehabilitates birds, small mammals, reptiles and fawns and is located in Orange County. 919-619-0776.  CLAWS operates satelite locations around the Triangle and has some rescue capability.

Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic rehabilitates birds, small mammals and reptiles and is located in Durham County.  919-544-3330.  TWRC asks you to call them before you bring an animal to their location just to make sure the animal needs assistance.  They do not always have someone that can pick up an animal so you may need to take the animal to them or find someone that can. TWRC is the only wildlife hospital in the area and has a wildlife veterinarian on staff.