On spring and early summer weekdays here on the coast, the walking trails, beaches and lakes are fairly quiet as most folks are busy at work, and any sick or injured wildlife needing a helping hand may not be found in time. But on the weekends, it is a different story altogether.

With the crowds of folks here to vacation and spend time on the beautiful but truck-filled beaches, injured animals have at least a better chance of getting help. (They also have a good chance of being run over!) Since baby critter season is in full swing, lots of little ducklings, baby geese, raccoons and, of course, the seemingly endless numbers of “orphaned” songbird fledglings find their way to people for help.

Some things you can do to help out:

If you find a baby critter of some kind, mammal or bird, before you bring it in to safety, check to see if its parents might be hanging about nearby. Many times, well-meaning folks stumble onto a young animal who is simply in the middle of being weaned from mom or learning the basics of flying, and there is no real need to intervene.

But just as often, something has happened and the need for a rescue is immediate. In the case of baby ducks, for example, they will only survive for a few minutes without the protection of mom because there are so many predators like crows, cats, dogs, etc., which will attack little ducklings.

Once you have decided to intervene and aid an injured animal, be sure to wear gloves for both your safety and the animal’s. Place the animal in a secure box with clean towels or rags for comfort and warmth, and place the box in a safe, quiet and warm place. No food or water is needed immediately.

Resist the urge for show-and-tell with little children, please, as any unnecessary handling is very stressful to wildlife and seriously reduces their chance for long-term survival.

Once you have the young animal safe and secure, call us at the Wildlife Center, 665-3595, and we will assist you with this animal and begin the process of getting the critter healthy and ready to release back to its home in the wild.

The very best people are always ready to take a few moments of their lives to save injured, sick or orphaned animals. We salute those intelligent, savvy people who care enough to spend some of their precious, hard-earned weekend time in the pursuit of saving wild animals, not killing them!

It takes a lot of commitment and heart to help orphaned and injured animals, and with all the errands and chores you have to do everyday, it’s hard to justify the time and cost. But if you are willing to take the time to help these sad little critters, then we at the Wildlife Center are most certainly willing to heal them. Good Fortune to all of you who care.

Check out our new weekly nature movie at:

(http://home.pacifier.com/~sparks/wildlife!!.html)

Craig Sparks is director of NAWA, a filmmaker, freelance writer and wildlife rehabilitator.

Found injured wildlife? Questions? Call the Wildlife Center at 665-3595 or send an e-mail to: sparks@pacifier.com.

High quality photo reprints from Nature Notes can be found online at: www.chinookobserver.info