Great News!!! Though they may be cute from a distance, squirrels can be quite bothersome when they reside in your gutters. Oftentimes, squirrels will use tree branches as bridges to get to your home’s roof. They’ll then make nests in the gutters, soffits, eaves, fascia, chimney, or even chewing through part of the roof to […]
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Poison Risks & Consquences
Consider This: You purchase poison and put the bait out for rodents in your home or yard. Rat/mouse eats poison. Barred Owl swoops down to eat the mouse. Barred Owl dies in a neighborhood, close to your home but not in your yard for you to see. Raccoons find owl carcass and eat parts of […]
Orphaned Infant Wildlife Do’s & Don’ts
What species of baby did you find? Wildlife baby season is officially upon us here in the Midwest, and while they are adorable to watch out of a window, they also can be quite a problem for many of us. Sometimes it is difficult to see the logic in Mom’s decision to have her babies […]
Baby Squirrels
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Skunks
It’s that time of year again! Toward the end of April and throughout the month of May each year baby skunks are born. Normally, the public doesn’t see these babies until they are fully furred and capable of following Mom out of the den at night to go out foraging for bugs. There are a […]
Baby Raccoons
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Opossums
A lot of people who call the hotline have the wrong idea about opossums. No, they do not have rabies. In fact it is EXTREMELY rare if even POSSIBLE for opossums to get rabies because their body temperature is too low for rabies to survive and replicate well. The usual reason people think they have […]
Baby Groundhogs
Groundhogs and woodchucks are the same species. They are just called by both names. Groundhogs in Missouri and Illinois live just about everywhere. They often are in medians of highways, at highway exit ramps, in the grassy areas around shopping plazas, and people just don’t notice them. They live underground and eat mostly grasses, clover, […]
Baby Coyote or Fox
Many of the calls we receive regarding coyotes and foxes are not technically help calls. They are much more like general education calls more than anything else. When you live in a busy metro area, or a major city, you do not expect to see coyotes/foxes out your back window, but in reality our coyotes/foxes […]
Baby Bunnies
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Birds
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Beavers
While ‘baby’ season doesn’t officially start until Valentine’s Day in Missouri & Illinois, we do have one native species that gets the early bird award for their offspring. Beaver babies are born as early as January each year. If you come across a baby beaver with no parents around, give the hotline a call to […]
Geese
From March through May this is our most common call into the hotline concerning waterfowl. Most callers say that the goose is injured, or sick, because why else would a goose sit there and let you approach it so closely? Why else would a goose sit in a traffic lane in a busy parking lot […]
Ducks
From March through May this is our most common call into the hotline concerning waterfowl. Most callers say that the goose is injured, or sick, because why else would a goose sit there and let you approach it so closely? Why else would a goose sit in a traffic lane in a busy parking lot […]
Birds (Songbirds)
Backyard birding has become America’s favorite pastime. Americans have more bird feeders than cable television. In part, because of this, we meet our bird friends in every possible capacity. Sometimes conflicts occur and we are left struggling to find humane options for a solution. Below you will find a list of our most common songbird […]
Squirrels
Found a Baby Squirrel? Click here for detailed instructions. Squirrels are America’s favorite wild animal to watch, feed, and be entertained by. Simultaneously, they are also hated by gardeners, bird feeders, dogs, cats, and grumpy old men everywhere. There are devices to deter squirrels from eating your bird seed, and other devices designed to entertainingly […]
Otters
The playful North American river otter is equally at home in the water and on land. It makes its home in a burrow near the water’s edge, and can thrive in river, lake, swamp, or estuary ecosystems. Otter abodes feature numerous tunnels—one of which usually allows them to come and go from the water. These […]
Groundhogs
Groundhogs and woodchucks are the same species. They are just called by both names. Groundhogs in Missouri and Illinois live just about everywhere. They often are in medians of highways, at highway exit ramps, in the grassy areas around shopping plazas, and people just don’t notice them. They live underground and eat mostly grasses, clover, […]
Chipmunks
The Midwestern states are home to the Eastern Chipmunk, a member of the rodent family along with squirrels, mice, and beavers. Chipmunks have reddish-brown fur on their upper body with a total of five dark brown stripes and contrasting light brown stripes along their backs. They have a tawny stripe that goes from their whiskers […]
Badger
Most people are unaware that badgers live in our area. They are rarely seen, and they don’t look like the typical ‘badger’ photos that you might see on television or in books, usually the European Badger. Missouri & Illinois and much of the Midwest is home to the North American Badger. The badger was built […]