Rescuing Wildlife

Rabies Warning

Do not handle, feed, or transport sick/injured raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, or bats.

If Watertown Animal Control is unavailable and the animal needs immediate assistance, please reach out to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Watertown Animal Control is not licensed to rehabilitate wildlife.

Rescuing Wildlife

Sick, injured, and/or orphaned wildlife needs to be transported to a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, Tufts Wildlife Clinic, or New England Wildlife Center. Please visit each website or call to take note of their limited admission hours and read their requests before dropping off an animal. These facilities will not freely accept any animal and should only be used in a critical emergency as these are not-for-profit organizations with very limited space and resources. During summer months, nearly all rehabilitators will hit capacity and cannot accept new patients. If you come across young wildlife of any species, please do not touch or pick up. Most of the time these animals are not orphaned.

Rabbits will dig shallow holes for their young and cover them with grass. These nests oftentimes are uncovered by dogs and outdoor cats. You will rarely see the mother rabbit; she will only return to the nest for very short periods of time to feed her young. If you find a nest in your yard, please keep dogs restrained and cats indoors until the babies leave the nest. It is a myth that a mother bird or rabbit will abandon their offspring if a human has touched them! If your pet has uncovered a rabbit nest, place the newborn rabbits back into the hole and cover with grass clippings. The mother will still return. Human interference with young animals by capturing them when they are not in need of rescue threatens their survival. For more detailed information from MassWildlife, please visit the young wildlife page.

Ducks and geese walking around in parking lots is not a cause for concern. Birds of all kinds will walk around or nest in parking lots. This is because people feed them. Feeding wildlife is strongly discouraged because it encourages wildlife to live closer to humans in heavily trafficked, potentially dangerous areas. There is a reason pigeons and seagulls can always be found close to people – plenty of food! Please never feed ducks and geese in dangerous areas like parking lots, because once they decide to call it home, we cannot relocate them.

*Always remember personal safety and exposure to diseases before handling any type of wildlife on your own*

Here is a video of what fledgling American robins look like during their first few days out of the nest. Blue jays and European starlings also exhibit this behavior. They have outgrown their nest before they can fly and appear to struggle, however, their parents still feed them. Birds in this scenario should never be captured. While we understand they are vulnerable to predators, this is nature, and we should never interfere.

Problem Wildlife/Pest Control Issues

Animal Control Officers are NOT licensed to remove unwanted animals from property, homes, or businesses. Examples: Coyote walking through your neighborhood, woodchucks burrowing in yard, chipmunks in attics, skunks under sheds, rats/mice in homes, or squirrels in chimneys.

Massachusetts law prohibits the relocation of wildlife.

Property owners can contact the MassWildlife Central District Office for personal technical advice at 508-389-6300. A licensed Problem Animal Control (PAC) agent can be contracted to assist homeowners/businesses with unwanted animals. For information on local wildlife, including information on addressing nuisance wildlife conditions, please visit the MassWildlife website.