Born to be Wild-Animal Rehabilitation and Rescue

05/21/2025

Interesting fact, many people don’t know. Wildlife rehabbers have lots of rules and regulations we need to follow.

Fawn and Raccoons have the most stringent regulations. Among those raccoon regulations are the following three.

1. Raccoons cannot come mingle or even touch Raccoons from other counties.
2. Each raccoon enclosure must be labeled with identifiable markers for the animals and counties they originated from.
3. All Raccoons must be released to the county they were found in.

Tonight I was updating enclosure tags… The paperwork portion of rehabbing might be one of the most exhausting .

04/22/2025

Happy Earth Day.

Every day is Earth Day. By protecting wildlife, we preserve biodiversity and ecosystem balance. Treating injured animals not only gives them a second chance but also invests in a healthier planet for humans. Your support drives our mission of care, conservation, and education. Please considered donating to help us continue to care for wildlife.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1K8T810HS9EGK?ref_=wl_share

03/30/2025

Why do wildlife rehabbers ask people not to feed a baby ( or adult) anything?

It’s not because we want to hog all the fun for ourselves, I promise. It’s because wild orphans aren’t typically healthy enough to digest food, when they are found.

Many are hypothermic. The body can’t even handle water when its temperature is too low. All energy is going to crucial body functions in that state. If the body has to divert energy to digesting, it will likely be fatal.

Many are very dehydrated. Animals can’t digest properly when they are dehydrated. The body pulls water into the intestines to aid with digestion. If there isn’t any water to pull from, this could cause a domino affect of problems.

All wild baby animals require a specific diet and that diet generally isn’t available in local stores. Feeding the wrong milk could cause an upset stomach or worse.

All baby animals need specific amounts of formula calculated by their body weight. The percentage differs depending on the species. The same reason human babies can’t drink cows milk, it isn’t suitable for human babies.

Not every animal can drink from a bottle. The correct instrument must be used to prevent aspiration and over feeding.

🙌🙌🙌Bring me a thin, dehydrated, hypothermic animal and I can probably save it. Feed that same animal before you bring it to me…there’s likely nothing I can do to bring it back. 🎯🎯🎯

So please, don’t feed any wild orphans (or adults) that you have found this season. Keeping them warm is a huge help until you find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Even better don’t touch the babies until you’ve spoke to a licensed rehab… Not googled the info… speak to an actual licensed rehabber.

03/11/2025

We have had a fairly peaceful winter, lots of injured and sick adult raccoons but managable.

That changes today withh a few orphaned babieses on their way to us.

Raccoons find themselves in need of rehabilitation due to injury, illness, or being orphaned. Wildlife rehabilitation centers play a crucial role in providing care and treatment for these animals with the ultimate goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat.

In addition to physical care, wildlife rehabilitation also focuses on providing the raccoons with opportunities to exhibit natural behaviors and acquire the skills necessary for survival in the wild. This may include creating environments that mimic natural habitat, providing enrichment activities, and minimizing human contact to prevent habituation.

We need your help to make this possible. We have both a Venmo account to help us provide formula and vet care and an Amazon wish list for some of our more common needs.

Additionally, we are looking for volunteers to assist in feeding and cleaning enclosures. This will require in-person training and a weekly commitment. We ask that volunteers be willing to cover a 1.5 hour time slot, and will need to be approved from the DNR. If you’re interested in assisting us this summer, please comment below or private message us.

Please share our wishlist and Venmo. Happy baby season.

12/17/2024

Getting things prepped for the kittens to get fixed tomorrow. I am not kidding you three of them went right to the correct carrier.  Who knew I had genius fosters?!? 🥴🤦‍♀️🤣

09/21/2024

Surprise DNR visit went wonderfully. Not only am I not over capacity, I also don’t have any monkeys or kangaroos 🤦‍♀️) People are so creative in making up stories. I have empty enclosures right now people. I bust my butt to care for every animal I have and it’s so disheartening to have time and resources wasted by making up complaints. Especially people whom have never even been to my house.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.. 😂(

09/02/2024

I don’t know that I can pinpoint when I went from the “Raccoon lady” to the “possum person” but I’m not complaining … they crack me up and I love them. ( and they are so much easier than raccoons and squirrels haha)

08/15/2024

Help!!! We need donations between the possums and vet bills we could really use some cash donations to get us through the next few weeks!!! Venmo in the comments.

08/11/2024

This is what we want to see!!! Don’t kidnap babies!!

08/07/2024

Get signed up quickly, it will fill up fast!!

📢 Attention Wildlife Enthusiasts 📢

The The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC) has announced their upcoming fall "Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation" class!

This course is perfect for anyone passionate about saving native wildlife and interested in getting their rehabilitation license.
Remember, per the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), it is illegal to rehabilitate wildlife without proper licensing.
So be sure to get your 30 hours of volunteer time with a licensed rehabilitator logged and then sign up for this class before the spots fill up!

📅 Date: October 12-13
📍 Location: Eaton Rapids High School. Eaton Rapids, MI.
Host: Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center

Don't miss this opportunity to make a difference and ensure the well-being of our precious wildlife. For more details and to register, visit: https://theiwrc.org/product/basic-wildlife-rehabilitation-course/

Let's work together to protect and save our native wildlife! 🐾

07/14/2024

Please stop giving water to injured or orphaned wildlife. You might think you are helping but there is NEVER a good reason to give an injured or sick animal water NEVER. EVER.

Giving injured wildlife water can do more harm than good if given the wrong way. Here are 3 reasons not to give water and what you should do instead.

07/06/2024

It’s not everyday you get a glimpse of baby opossums in mom’s pouch!! The babies were born 10 days ago and are getting big fast!

Opossums give birth to babies about the size of a jellybean, who then crawl up their mom’s stomach into her pouch where they live for about 8 weeks before coming out.

Super cool animals!!