Published on May. 5, 2024, 11:26 PM

One wildlife centre said its rescues increase by up to 500 per cent this time of year

An Alberta wildlife rescue centre is currently caring for 20 injured animals, but says that number could rise into the hundreds over the next couple of weeks.

“It’s baby season all over Alberta for pretty much every species,” said Scottie Potter, with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), north of Calgary.

Potter said that from the end of April to mid-June, AIWC begins to take in dramatically more animals, primarily young orphans.

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“That can be due to car accidents, attacks from cats and domestic dogs … even something like a parent bird hitting a barbed-wire fence. So these sorts of issues are often the result of human conflict in some way.”

Potter said that animal baby season, plus the movement of migratory birds making their way through Alberta at this time of year leads to an all-around surge in wildlife numbers in the province.

Robins, great horned owls, a sharp-shinned hawk and a red fox kit are among those already in care at AIWC. The organization estimates that the number of animals in care during springtime increases by approximately 500 per cent.