Caring for an orphaned fawn or an abandoned litter of foxes takes a special breed of person.

Some of the wildlife who arrive on our doorstep are just hours old. Their survival is literally in our hands. They need hours and hours of human time, with two-hourly feeds day and night being commonplace. They also need the play, warmth and affection that their mother would have given them- for as long as they would have in the wild. For badgers, this means six months of care, whilst for otters, it is around 18 months.

Without a mother to feed, guide and nurture them, they are completely helpless, which is why we have trained staff and volunteers on hand seven days a week, 365 days a year. As our ultimate goal is on rehabilitation back into the wild whenever possible, our training ensures that the orphans are kept in natural conditions and are handled correctly to enable this to happen.

Some wildlife need more help than others. An otter for example will be taught to swim and eat fish in the kitchen at the centre or in the home of one of our dedicated volunteers. They are then moved to indoor enclosures where human contact is reduced but food and warmth is still on hand. When they are ready they are transferred into an outdoor natural habitat before being released back into the wild.

Would you like to help?

We recognise that many people simply don’t have the space or time to hand rear a bird or animal in their own home, but would like to help in some way. If this is you, please adopt a wildlife baby today  by going to animal adoptions on the toolbar or make a donation now. Take a look at our fundraising page to see what your donation could buy.