Community Corner

Helping Wildlife in Crisis

When a wild animal is orphaned or injured in Fairfield County, more often than not, it's taken to Wildlife In Crisis, a rehabilitation facility in Weston.

A woman driving in New Canaan Wednesday morning saw a raccoon trying to cross the road in front of her. She beeped her horn, but the animal didn't move. As her car drew closer, she realized the raccoon was just a baby, and that it looked weak.

She scooped it up in her sweatshirt, placed it in a box and drove the small animal to Wildlife In Crisis, an animal rehabilitation facility nestled in a wooded area atop a hill in Weston.

"He was in the last stages of starvation," said Peter Reid, who runs WIC with his wife Dara. "His mother probably was trapped or killed a week ago, and he's been wandering ever since."

When someone traps a mother raccoon, Reid said it's a death sentence for its babies. It also doesn't solve a homeowner's problem because another animal will take its place, he said, adding, "So it's not a solution and it's expensive."

Spring is the time when all animals are giving birth and Reid said, "One thing I want to stress is to leave the fawns alone. The mother will often leave them alone all day to forage, then return to nurse them at night and move them to another spot. Call us with any questions."

"We're the only facility of its kind that handles all native species of wildlife," Reid said. "Our mission here is to solve human/wildlife conflict."

Founded by Dara Reid in 1988, Wildlife in Crisis is a volunteer run, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to wildlife preservation and land conservation. WIC cares for over 5,000 injured and orphaned wild animals every year.

An Alligator in a Bathtub

This part of Fairfield County has been re-forested since land was cleared for farming in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to a revival of native wild species, according to Reid. 

On Wednesday morning, a duck was waddling inside WIC's office and volunteers cared for a duckling and a baby raccoon. Outside, in one of the animal houses on the property, a woman fed fawns living there.

Among the other wild animals currently in WIC's care are Red-tailed Hawks, Bard Owls, Cardinals, Bluejays and starlings.

Reid said the center has never cared for a Black Bear, though he expressed his belief that it will happen one day as the bear population continues to grow in the area.

Over the years, one animal Reid was surprised to take in was an alligator.

"Someone had an alligator in his bathtub in Bridgeport," he said of one man's exotic pet. "It got pretty big. Police brought it to us. He was a handful."

The alligator was eventually taken by an animal rescue group in Florida, Reid recalled.

The Cost of Rehab

A variety of situations bring new tenants to WIC, and some of them are tragic.

Reid remembers when a rail crew for Metro-North responded to a deer being hit on the railroad tracks in lower Fairfield County.

"The crew found a fawn nestled by the mother on the tracks and brought it to us," he said. "That's happened a couple of times over the years."

Hawks and owls are often brought in after injuring a wing. Reid said tree lines tend to be close to the road and when one of these birds locks in on prey, it swoops down and doesn't see the car coming in its peripheral vision.

"We work with a couple of good avian vets," Reid said. "It's a pretty delicate surgery to repair the wing. It has very light weight, hollow bone structures. After surgery, it can take up to eight months to heal."

Once an animal is old or healthy enough to live on its own, it's released back into the wild.

WIC depends solely on donations to rehabilitate and feed these animals, which can be costly. For example, each baby raccoon costs over $600 to raise, skunk around $350, squirrel $200 and bunny $150.

To make a donation, send a check to P.O. Box 1246, Weston, CT, 06883. For more information about WIC, call 203-544-9913, send an email to wildlifeincrisis@snet.net or visit the website wildlifeincrisis.org.


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