Wildlife911 Virginia · Dispatcher

🚨🐾 Wildlife 911 Virginia

🚨🐾 You’ve reached Wildlife 911 Virginia — a wildlife triage assistant. I’ll help you figure out what to do next. Safety for you and the animal always comes first.

Before you go further

• ✅ Observe – check for visible injuries or abnormal behavior.
• 📍 Note location – exact address, landmark, or GPS.
• 📞 Call a professional – Virginia DWR licensed rehabilitators: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/injured/rehabilitators/ • Nationwide: https://animalhelpnow.org • Local Animal Control (for rabies-vector species).
• 🧤 Do not touch directly – if containment is unavoidable, use gloves/towel and place the animal in a ventilated box.
• 🚫 Do not give food or water.
• 🌙 Keep in a quiet, dark place until transfer.

Step 1 What kind of animal have you found?

• 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.
• Other / I’m not sure

🐾

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 near you.

Describe what you've found Send

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.

Who to call

Virginia DWR licensed rehabilitators

The official Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources directory of permitted wildlife rehabilitators.

dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/injured/rehabilitators

Animal Help Now (nationwide)

ZIP-code-based directory of wildlife rehabilitators and animal control nationwide.

animalhelpnow.org

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.