Wild Animal Rescue Help

— The Dunwoody Nature Center does not accept wild animals for rehabilitation. — 

If you have found an injured or orphaned animal, find your closest wildlife rehabilitator.

 

Questions? Contact our partners at AWARE:

AWARE is a non-profit organization of volunteers working to preserve and restore wildlife through education and wildlife rehabilitation. AWARE accepts injured and orphaned wildlife every day of the year. The center is located approximately 30 minutes from Atlanta at 4158 Klondike Road, Lithonia, GA 30038.

Contact Aware

If you find a baby bird...

  • NEVER give food or fluids to any animal without first consulting a wildlife rehabilitation center. Food and water can cause severe illness, even death for an already distressed animal.
  • If it is not feathered or doesn’t move around well, place it in a box with a towel in the bottom and call the nearest rehabilitation center or the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to find the nearest rehabilitation center.
  • If it is injured, place it in a box and immediately call the nearest rehabilitation center or the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to find the nearest rehabilitation center find your closest wildlife rehabilitator here
  • If it is hopping and has most of its feathers, watch from a hiding place (inside) for an hour or so. You should see mom or dad caring for it on the ground until it learns to fly. They may even appear to be swooping down on it. They are chastising it for doing something wrong or teaching it to hide from predators. This is perfectly normal.
  • Any other circumstance warrants a call to the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center or the Department of Natural Resources. 

If you find a baby mammal...

  • Do not touch the animal. Some mammals can carry rabies, and only a wildlife specialist should decide how to proceed.
  • Keep the animal in sight, and immediately call your nearest wildlife rehabilitation center or your state’s Department of Natural Resources to find the center nearest you.

Snake identification...

  • Visit the snakes of Georgia webpage from the University of Georgia herpetology program webpage for images of common snakes found in our region: pictures of common snakes.
  • Most snakes will choose to flee rather than stay and attack. Give snakes space to leave on their own. Never pick up a snake who you cannot identify.