How to Be a Good Finder: What to Do When You Spot Injured Wildlife

You’re driving down a back road when you see something that doesn’t look right.

Maybe there’s a porcupine sitting unusually close to the pavement. A bird is standing in the road and not flying away. An animal appears to have been struck by a car but is still alive.

You want to help, so you call a wildlife rehabilitator.

That’s a great instinct. But there’s something many people don’t realize:

The information you provide can make the difference between a rehabilitator being able to help and having no realistic way to find the animal.

Wildlife rehabilitators generally aren’t animal-control dispatchers with vehicles patrolling an assigned territory. Most are volunteers caring for animals from their own homes, often while juggling jobs, families, existing patients, and other responsibilities.

So if you find wildlife that may need help, here’s how to be a really good finder.

📍 Location, Location, Location

This is probably the single most important piece of information you can provide.

“On Route 20 between Lee and Pittsfield” may sound specific, but that represents many miles of roadway, woods, intersections, driveways and places an injured animal could move into.

A rehabilitator can't realistically drive that entire stretch hoping to spot the same animal.

Instead, look for something that can pinpoint the location:

• Drop a GPS pin on your phone
• Note the nearest street address
• Look for a cross street or intersection
• Note a mile marker or utility pole number
• Identify a nearby business, trailhead, church, gas station or other landmark
• Record your direction of travel
• Take a screenshot of your location on your map app

Even something like “Route 8 southbound, about 100 yards past the intersection with ___ Road” is far more useful than the names of the towns you were traveling between.

You do not need to approach the animal to do this.

⏰ Tell Us WHEN You Saw It

Wild animals don't necessarily stay where you saw them.

An animal spotted five minutes ago is very different from one spotted yesterday afternoon.

When contacting a rehabilitator, tell them approximately what time you saw the animal. If some time has passed, that's important information too.

📸 A Photo or Video Can Be Extremely Helpful

If you can safely take a picture or short video without approaching, chasing or stressing the animal, it can provide valuable information.

A rehabilitator may be able to assess posture, movement, visible injuries, age or even whether the animal actually appears to need intervention.

Photos can also prevent unnecessary rescues. Some perfectly normal wildlife behaviors can look alarming if you haven't seen them before.

But there's a very important word in that paragraph:

Safely.

Do not stop in an unsafe location, walk into traffic, trespass, climb down an embankment or put yourself in danger to get a picture.

Your safety comes first.

👀 If Possible, Keep Eyes on the Animal

One of the most helpful things a finder can do is remain nearby from a safe distance until help can be coordinated.

That doesn't mean standing over the animal.

It may simply mean pulling into a safe parking area and watching from your vehicle.

An injured animal can move surprisingly far. Knowing that it is still at the reported location dramatically increases the chance that someone responding will actually find it.

If you can't stay, that's okay. Just say so and provide the best location information you can.

📝 Tell Us What You Actually Observed

Try to separate what you saw from what you think happened.

For example, instead of:

“Its leg is broken.”

Tell the rehabilitator:

“It tried to walk twice but wouldn't put weight on its left rear leg.”

Instead of:

“It was hit by a car.”

If you didn't actually witness a collision, say:

“It was lying beside the road and lifted its head when I approached.”

Those details help a rehabilitator assess the situation without accidentally building the assessment around an assumption.

• Useful observations include whether the animal is:
• Standing, sitting or lying down
• Walking normally or struggling to move
• Bleeding
• Dragging a limb
• Circling, stumbling or falling over
• Breathing unusually
• Alert and reacting to its surroundings
• Attempting to flee when approached
• Obviously deceased

🦔 Don't Assume Every Animal Needs to Be Rescued

Young wildlife is particularly likely to be “rescued” unnecessarily.

Baby animals may spend long periods without a parent visibly nearby. Some species freeze when frightened. Nocturnal animals can occasionally appear during daylight without being sick. And an animal resting beside a road isn't automatically injured simply because the location makes us uncomfortable.

When possible, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator before capturing or moving wildlife.

📦 Sometimes Containment Is the Best Next Step

You may have heard the general advice not to handle or capture wildlife without first speaking with a rehabilitator. That's good advice—but it isn't an absolute rule.

There are situations where safely containing an injured animal can prevent further injury and make rescue much more likely.

An animal lying in an active roadway, for example, may be struck again if it isn't moved. An obviously injured animal that is still mobile may disappear into thick vegetation before a rehabilitator can arrive. And when a finder is able to safely contain and transport an animal, that can be enormously helpful. Most wildlife rehabilitators are volunteers caring for animals while managing jobs, families and other responsibilities, and many simply aren't able to provide pickup service for every call.

The key is knowing when containment is appropriate—and when it isn't.

Whenever circumstances allow, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator first. Describe the animal, its condition and location, and ask whether it should be contained and how to do so safely.

If the animal is in immediate danger and waiting isn't realistic, moving it out of harm's way may be appropriate if doing so does not put you or anyone else at risk.

If you do contain wildlife:

• Use an appropriately sized, secure container with ventilation.
• Keep the animal somewhere dark, quiet and comfortably warm until you receive instructions.
• Minimize handling, noise and interaction with people and pets.
• Do not offer food, water or medication unless instructed by a wildlife professional.
• Never attempt to handle an animal you cannot safely identify or one that could seriously injure you.
• Be aware that some species have special legal protections or require specially permitted rehabilitators.

And remember: containing an animal never means picking it up with your bare hands. Depending on the species and circumstances, a rehabilitator may be able to talk you through a safer method using a box, carrier, towel, tote or other equipment.

If you are willing and able to transport the animal to a rehabilitator, say so when you call. That information can make coordinating a rescue considerably easier.

When the Animal Is in the Road

An animal in an active roadway presents a special problem: leaving it there may be dangerous for both the animal and motorists.

But never enter moving traffic or put yourself in danger to save an animal. A wildlife rescue should not become a human emergency.

If traffic conditions make intervention unsafe, call local police or other appropriate local authorities and provide the animal's precise location.

If conditions are safe enough to intervene, the immediate goal may simply be to get the animal out of the roadway and into a safer location nearby while you contact a rehabilitator for further instructions.

Whenever possible, remember where you moved it and send a dropped pin. “I moved it off the road” isn't very helpful if nobody knows which patch of woods it disappeared into.

📱 When You Contact a Rehabilitator

A great first message might look something like this:

“I just saw a porcupine on Route ___ northbound, approximately 200 feet past ___ Road in ___, MA. It's sitting on the shoulder and appears unable to use its back legs. I saw it at about 3:15 PM and it's still there. I can send you a photo and a dropped pin.”

That message gives a rehabilitator something they can work with immediately.

Compare that with:

“I saw an injured porcupine somewhere on Route ___ while driving from ___ to ___.”

We absolutely appreciate that you cared enough to report it.

Unfortunately, without a reasonably precise location, finding that animal may be nearly impossible.

❤️ Finding Wildlife Is Part of the Rescue

You don't need wildlife training to make a meaningful difference.

You don't need to capture the animal yourself. You don't need to diagnose what's wrong. And you certainly don't need to put yourself in danger.

You just need to be our eyes on the ground.

Remember the basics: Where? When? What did you see? Is the animal still there? Can you safely send a photo or location pin?

Those few pieces of information can turn a well-intentioned phone call into an actionable wildlife report—and give an injured animal a much better chance of getting the help it needs.

For a list of Massachusetts Rehabbers who accept porcupines, go here

For a list of Massachusetts Rehabbers who accept other wildlife, go here