Campbell said her San Francisco office gets calls all the time reporting baby birds that appear abandoned on the ground.
“In almost all cases, the baby bird is fine,” she said. “It’s being fed by the parents on the ground — the only thing to watch out for is if there’s a cat stalking in its area, a dog could get to it, or if it’s near the street,” she said. “We’re always telling people: don’t kidnap the baby birds.”
The good news is that if you aren’t sure if an animal is in need of rescue, there are a number of agencies in the Bay Area with dispatchers and on-call experts available all day long to send out teams or answer questions, and they will ask you about what you’re seeing to help determine if they need to send out a response team.
“The public is our eyes and ears along this massive stretch of coast that we respond to,” said Giancarlo Rulli, spokesperson for The Marine Mammal Center, which rescues and rehabilitates marine animals found along 600 miles of the California coast, including in the Bay Area.
Here are some numbers to call depending on the animal you encounter and where:
- If you find a lost or hurt pet, try your local Animal Care and Control: In San Francisco at 415-554-9400, on the peninsula at Peninsula Humane Society at 650-340-7022 or in the East Bay at Berkeley Animal Care Services at 510-981-6600, Oakland Animal Services at 510-777-3333 or Contra Costa County at 925-608-8400.
- To report wildlife in need of help, try WildCare in San Rafael at 415-456-7283, Lindsay Wildlife Hospital in Walnut Creek at 925-659-8156, Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue in San Francisco at 510-421-989 or Napa Wildlife Rescue in Napa at 707-224-4295.
- For injured or sick marine wildlife, including whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dolphins and porpoises, call the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito: 415-289-7325.
- To report dead marine life, call the Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 415-379-5381.
What should you do immediately to help the pet or creature in need?
Once you’ve determined the animal might need help, try to leave the animal be, but be aware of other people or dangers to it.
Pemberton said sometimes marine mammals use the beach to rest, get warm or evade some other threat, so allowing them that space is important — around 150 feet is recommended by the Marine Mammal Center. And if you can stick around to deter others from approaching, that’s even better.
“You never want to return a sick or injured animal to the ocean,” Pemberton said. “They don’t derive comfort from our presence or our voices or our touch.”
Take a photo of the animal if you can, Pemberton said, to help response teams assess any help that may be needed. And write down or tell responders about the type of animal, its behavior and any signs of distress.
For pets like dogs and cats, it’s best to observe the animal from a distance and, if on a roadway, try not to force it into further danger, according to Miguel Abi-hassan, chief program officer at Joybound People & Pets, a Walnut Creek-based pet adoption, training and vet care organization. Also, be cautious about handling any pets — even if they appear friendly and healthy, they may act unpredictably.
“Domestic pets are likely in a stage of flight/fight when injured or even when stressed by an unfamiliar environment,” Abi-hassan said. “Sick and injured animals can often respond to the discomfort of their injuries or illness with unpredictable behavior, up to biting or scratching, and some illnesses that animals get can be spread to humans, so we do not recommend you try and handle an animal that is obviously sick or injured.”
Encountering an animal in distress can be difficult for you, too, so don’t hesitate to use the resources at your disposal, Hermance said.
“We are here not to just help the animal, but also to help the human that’s going through a really stressful moment,” Hermance said.
What will happen to the animal in the short and long term?
Once you talk to a dispatcher, they’ll get your location and decide whether to send professionals to assess and maybe transport the animal to care or to be released somewhere safe.
If a marine mammal is in need of rescue, it will be brought to a triage center and then to the Sausalito Hospital for admission and rehabilitation care, which can take weeks to months, depending on the animal and its needs, but success rates are high, Rulli said.
Hermance said while WildCare, too, tends to be successful in rehabilitating and releasing baby animals back into the wild, it’s often much more difficult to treat adults.
