San Diego Humane Society is gearing up for one of its busiest times of the year, baby wildlife season, holding a virtual baby shower to fund its Project Wildlife program.
Baby squirrels, bunnies, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, hummingbirds, and ducklings are just a few of the species SDHS’ Project Wildlife program will see an influx of in the coming weeks and months.
Each spring, Project Wildlife takes in thousands of injured and orphaned baby wildlife – and needs the community’s help to give them a second chance. That comes with the public donating a special gift from SDHS’s baby registries at sdhumane.org/babyshower. The most-needed items include jarred baby food, wild bird seed, paper towels, canned dog and cat food, and Pedialyte.
“We have been doing baby showers virtually since 2020 with COVID,” said Heather Schneider, wildlife outreach specialist for Project Wildlife. “
Speaking of the magnitude of the upcoming wildlife baby season, Schneider noted: “We take in thousands of baby animals. In one single day, we can take in over 100 – that’s quite a few babies.”
The 13th annual Wildlife Baby Shower is a virtual event where participants can choose to buy supplies from Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/baby-reg/projectwildlife-babyshower-february-2023-sandiego/1LIKMDQ4V0HD8 or Target https://www.target.com/gift-registry/gift/project-wildlife-baby-shower, or simply make a donation.
Schneider added, even this early in the year, wildlife babies are starting to come in. “We’ve already had some hummingbird and opposum babies brought in,” she said. “Babies really are brought in year-round.”
Every heating pad, bag of birdseed, and can of baby food purchased through the registries will be sent directly to San Diego Humane Society. “Your support will make a big difference for our tiniest wildlife babies,” said SDHS’ senior director of Project Wildlife Jon Enyart, DVM. “Every single donation will ensure the smallest animals who need our help get the shelter, nourishment, and medical care they need to thrive.”
Schneider said most wildlife babies are brought in by concerned residents finding them in their yards or neighborhoods. She offered some tips for how to deal with baby wildlife once you’ve found them.
“The first thing you always should do is wait four to six hours to see whether their parents come back or they are truly orphaned,” she said adding, “The parents may be gone foraging for food and returning.” She pointed out that some animals, like raccoons, are nocturnal and won’t come back until nighttime to retrieve babies who get strayed during the day.
“If you can, gently pick the babies up with gloves and a towel and keep them in a warm, dark place before calling Project Wildlife Rescue Service to come to pick them up at 619-299-7012,” Schneider noted. She added, “Our goal is to always make sure wildlife babies are happy and healthy, and to offer advice to people and educate them on how to help needy animals.”
Schneider advised that cleaning supplies, stuffed animals, or baskets mimicking their dens are helpful items to contribute in the baby shower that really make a difference in helping orphaned babies feel comfortable and at home in their new temporary surroundings before they are repatriated back to the wild once they mature in volunteer foster homes.
SDHS’ scope of social responsibility goes beyond adopting animals. The organization offers programs that strengthen the human-animal bond, preventing cruelty and neglect, providing medical care, educating the community, and serving as a safety net for all pet families.
Serving San Diego County since 1880, SDHS has campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona, and San Diego. For more information, visit sdhumane.org. Follow the SDHS on Twitter @sdhumane.
