“Wildlife Rehabilitation” : (v) an attempt to mitigate the human impact on our natural environment by rescuing orphaned and/or injured wildlife animals and raising them with the expressed purpose of being released back into the wild, giving them a second chance at a normal life.
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2023 Director’s Letter
Wildlife rehabilitation is more complex than most people realize. There are federal, state, and local laws to comply with. There are disease outbreaks and quarantines to navigate. There are diagnostic mysteries to solve, and sometimes euthanasia to perform when all treatments fail. There are the emotions of the human finders to soothe, as well as the emotions of our volunteers to gently manage when we lose a longtime beloved ambassador (or any wildlife patient, really). And there are my own emotions to ride out too; and those of my family, who are dragged along on this adventure by being my support system. But most importantly, and at the forefront of everything we do, there is the health, safety, welfare, and needs of the individual animal that we are privileged to be able to help. They cannot tell us what they most need or want, so we have to listen and watch, and do our best to help them. Sometimes it is easy to juggle all these factors and have a successful outcome. Sometimes it is more difficult and we cannot make everyone happy. But at the end of the day, it is always the welfare of the individual animal that is our highest priority.
2023 was an interesting year. We faced the usual challenges of wildlife rehabilitation; not having enough volunteers, supplies, or support, but somehow making it through anyways. We started on the legislative process, in partnership with CA Department of Fish & Wildlife, of rewriting the regulatory guidelines for wildlife rehabilitation in the state of California – a tricky, monumental task that is well overdue. We faced a facilities crisis, which we are still in the midst of (If anyone knows a contractor who loves wildlife PLEASE give them our number). We developed a plan to improve and enlarge our outdoor pre-release enclosures and hope to impliment this project this winter! (Again, any carpenters in our readers?) We are so proud of our volunteer team, and that together in 2023 we were able to rescue, rehabilitate and release 764 wildlife patients – and the year isn’t over yet! Last night we received a hit by car tree squirrel who is receiving care for a broken collarbone. The day before it was a waterlogged Hummingbird who just needed a warm dry respite from the rainstorms. Who knows what animals may need our help over these next final 3 days of 2023!
Thank you for your support, your time, and your love of wildlife. Thank you for walking this path with me, and with Yggdrasil Wildlife.
Happy New Year to you from all of us at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue.
Sincerely,
Lila Travis, Founder/Director
Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue
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Our organization is still 100% volunteer-run and donation-funded after 20+ years. We are a grassroots 501(c)3 non profit and all donations are tax- deductible.
Please remember us this holiday season!
Making a donation in honor of someone is a wonderful gift.
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Thank you to everyone who took the time to help wildlife this year!
Thanks to you, in 2023, Yggdrasil…
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Gave 764 wildlife animals a second chance at a normal life.
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Helped thousands via our wildlife hotline (2,700+ by phone & 10,500+ by text).
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Educated and inspired thousands through outreach education programs.
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Please enjoy photos of some of the 764 wildlife animals we helped in 2023
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Did you like our Photos? Want More?
We have a 2024 Calendar available!
Get yours today and enjoy Yggdrasil Wildlife Photos all year!
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1. Which local wildlife mammal can see in FULL COLOR VISION just like we do?
A. Raccoon B. Opossum C. Squirrel D. Deer
2. Which local wildlife mammal has a natural body temperature too low for the rabies vector to harbor in?
A. Squirrel B. Deer C. Skunk D. Opossum
3. Which local wild mammal is so near-sighted that they can only see 12 in. in front of their nose?
A. Deer B. Skunk C. Raccoon D. Opossum
ANSWERS BELOW
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Support from people like YOU!
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SF Animal Care & Control’s in-kind supply donations and Veterinary Support!.
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Yggdrasil has the following volunteer positions available:
Apply here:
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Do you have friends with green space in the North Bay, South Bay, San Francisco, San Mateo County, or other areas in Eastern Gray Tree Squirrel territory? We need more Eastern Gray soft-release sites in various Bay Area locations, as we’re required to release squirrels within 10 miles of where they were rescued. Please contact Lara if you can help! lara@yuwr.org
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Do you live near a forest or a creek, far from cars and dogs? We need support stations where we can set up soft-release locations for some of our older adult opossums who need a little extra support when being released into the wild. If you can help, please contact Lila: lila@yuwr.org. Thanks!
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1. (C) Squirrels see in Full Color Vision. In fact, they do not open their eyes until they are 5 weeks old because it takes their eyes longer to develop. Compare that to cats and dogs, who open their eyes in the first 2 weeks of age.
2. (D) Opossums have a normal body temperature of 92-95 degrees. The rabies virus, which can infect any mammal, needs to have a body temperature of 98 degrees in order to survive. The rare times that an opossum has become infected with rabies has been because the opossum had a fever that raised its body temperature to the necessary 98 degrees! Remember that although opossums drool, it is because they are scared of you and their defense mechanism is to look unappealing. They are actually very beneficial to our environment- eating mice, rats, slugs, ticks, and snails.
3. (B) Skunks are extremely near-sighted and can only see 12 inches in front of their noses! Because of this, they tend to get startled, which causes them to spray. A skunk has a limited amount of spray and they need to save it for life-threatening situations. If you see a skunk about to cross your path, make some noise to let it know that you are there. It won’t be eager to spray you – it will actually just turn around and go another way. The same is true for when you let your dog into your yard at night. To avoid your dog getting sprayed, turn on the lights and make some noise before letting your dog out. The skunk – and your dog – will thank you for the warning.
Also, remember that tomato juice was BUSTED by Mythbusters years ago as being INEFFECTIVE in removing skunk spray. You need to neutralize the chemical reaction that is making the smell. To do this, use this recipe:
1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon dawn dish soap
and check out this interesting article about Skunks: http://yuwr.org/2015/01/19/1368/
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