Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Unusual behaviour is worth reporting, not approaching.

Circling, head tilt, unsteadiness, daytime activity in a nocturnal animal, and unexpected tameness all have several possible causes: head injury, poisoning from rodenticide, distemper, and rabies among them. None of them are diagnosable from a photograph, and several are transmissible.

What to do right now

  1. 01Keep people and pets well back and bring pets indoors.
  2. 02Watch from a distance and note the time, the behaviour, and the species.
  3. 03Photograph or film it from where you are if you can do so safely.
  4. 04Call a rehabilitator and describe what you saw. They decide what happens next.

What not to do

  • Do not approach, corner, or attempt to contain it.
  • Do not offer food or water.
  • Do not assume tameness means it is friendly or hand-raised.

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • Anyone was bitten or scratched, or a pet had contact — see a doctor today, and call your vet about the pet.
  • It is a fox, skunk, raccoon, or bat behaving oddly in daylight.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for small mammals and certified for rabies vector species.

Report and advice

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

Showing 12 of 14. If nobody here can take it, 2 more are permitted for this animal.

Show all 14

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.