Wildlife911
Found a sick, injured, or orphaned wild animal?
Wildlife911 is your calm, evidence-based first step. It will help you decide whether the animal actually needs rescue (many don't), how to safely contain it if it does, and which licensed rehabilitator to contact. It will never tell you to feed it, water it, or treat it yourself — those are decisions for a professional.
Virginia is still the deepest authored Wildlife911 edition, with species pages, triage flow charts, and Virginia-specific law and referral notes. If you are outside Virginia, the new state directory provides rehab-center and state-agency contacts for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Ask Wildlife911
A conversational AI assistant trained on the Wildlife911 Virginia knowledge base, live wildlife rehabilitation literature, and the national rehab-center directory. Describe what you've found in plain language — Wildlife911 will guide you through triage and connect you to a licensed rehabilitator or state-agency contact near you.
Live AI assistant coming soon (Phase 7g of the WildlifeStats build). In the meantime, use the species pages below or the dispatcher — both deliver the same triage decision tree Wildlife911 will use.
Jump to your species
Tap a species below for triage criteria, flow charts, and detailed clinical reference.
- Bird Window strikes are emergencies. Fledglings on the ground are usually fine. Cat-caught birds always need help.
- Rabbit Mothers visit only at dawn and dusk. A baby alone in a nest is almost never orphaned.
- Squirrel Fallen babies can often be reunited with mom. Warm them up and give her time to retrieve them.
- Fox Rabies-vector species. Do not handle. Call animal control or a licensed rehabber first.
- Raccoon Rabies-vector species. Do not handle. Look for mom before assuming orphan.
- Skunk Rabies-vector species. Daytime activity or unsteadiness needs immediate animal control.
- Groundhog Rabies-vector species in Virginia. Day-active is normal; staggering is not.
- Bat Rabies-vector species. Any bat in living space requires animal control and rabies-exposure evaluation.
- Turtle / Snake / Frog (Reptiles & Amphibians) Do not relocate. Help across the road in the direction it was heading. Reptiles travel known territories.
- Deer (Fawn) Does leave fawns alone for hours. A lone fawn is almost never an orphan — leave it.
Who to call
Virginia DWR licensed rehabilitators
The official Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources directory of permitted wildlife rehabilitators.
Animal Help Now (nationwide)
ZIP-code-based directory of wildlife rehabilitators and animal control nationwide.
Local animal control
For rabies-vector species (fox, skunk, raccoon, bat, groundhog), and for any animal in your home, contact local animal control first.
Call two or three rehabilitators — availability varies. If you reach voicemail, leave a detailed message with your name and callback number, exact location, species (or description), the animal's condition, and what containment steps you have taken.
What Wildlife911 is — and is not
Is: a triage assistant for finders of sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife. Built around the principle that most situations look more urgent than they are — and that when an animal does need help, the right answer is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, not a layperson.
Is not: a substitute for a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Wildlife911 never provides feeding, watering, rearing, or medical treatment guidance.
Wildlife911 Virginia is curated to Virginia law, Virginia rabies regulations, Virginia chronic wasting disease counties, and the active Virginia wildlife rehabilitation community. The public national layer is a state directory of rehab-center and agency contacts. Browse the state directory for all 50 states and DC.