PHOTO PROVIDED
Shown is a great horned owl that was delivered by Wildlife in Need from Harrisburg to the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro in this photo by WIN.
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For the longest time, Sue DeArment was a wildlife rehabilitator. And one of the biggest challenges she always faced in that role was trying to get animals to the various centers.
If an animal was injured where she was at in Crawford County, outside of Erie, and she needed to get it to a rehab center in central Pennsylvania, she needed to find transportation or someone who could possibly handle the animal. Or often there was trouble finding someone who could successfully capture the animal and bring it to DeArment.
The numerous problems got Arment thinking of what she could do to remedy the issue. Injured animals are a large problem in Pennsylvania.
Fast forward and DeArment joined the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Council in Harrisburg, and brought those concerns with her.
“Those people that were on the council were all around the same age, took our tests around the same time and we knew each other very well,” DeArment said. “I had been talking about (those issues) to another rehabilitator and she said that’s a great idea. When I presented it to the council, they said they had the same problems. They couldn’t get the animals to the center if people weren’t able to drive or the animal couldn’t be caught.”
From those conversations Wildlife in Need was born, and now the statewide organization helps get injured animals to rehabilitation centers as DeArment originally had hoped.
Wildlife in Need began by DeArment in 2017 and by 2018, the organization had around 500 calls. Last year, the organization received 3,092 calls.
“And we were growing leaps and bounds,” DeArment said. “Fortunately we have the transfer and capture permits and wildlife couriers who are transporters who help handle most of those calls.”
Wildlife in Need , an all-volunteer organization, covers 67 counties in Pennsylvania and in those counties, there are just 28 wildlife rehabilitation centers. Most of those are located in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania.
Being able to get an injured animal to a rehabilitation center is something DeArment considers a heartfelt part of the job.
“It’s very rewarding to know you took heart in getting those animals to a rehab center no matter what the result was. Sometimes taking an animal to a rehab center allows that animal to be looked at and, if the animal’s suffering and can’t be rehabilitated, then it’s humanely put down,” DeArment said. “Or, if it’s an animal that has a handicap, as a result of the injury, then owe look for educational institutes to place those animals as long as they’re not suffering.”
Currently, according to DeArment, there’s a large problem with foxes being seen around the state, notably in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. Foxes are getting mange, which DeArment noted is due to the state’s mild winters.
“We aren’t having the long stretches of 30-days of freezing weather to try to keep parasites away,” she said.
For DeArment there’s a reward in bringing an animal back and releasing it into the wild again after it’s rehabilitated.
“The biggest reward is when rehabilitation center calls one of our people and say ‘hey, can you take this animal back and release it to the wild?’ That is the biggest reward right there is being able to take the animal that you captured, have it rehabilitated and take it back, often times including those people who called about the animal in the first place and allowing to see this animal go free,” DeArment said. “A lot of people are in disbelief. A lot of people don’t realize what’s involved in wildlife rehabilitation side of things. They were part of the success in the animal being captured, treated and then released. It’s so good for everyone involved.”
One thing that DeArment feels people should know regarding injured wildlife is that people should call Wildlife in Need when they see an injured animal or bird immediately. DeArment stressed that no one should wait to call something in after a few days of seeing an injured animal.
“Sooner they call us and realize an animal needs some help, the better. Something as small as a fledgling robin, if they break a bone they can heal in a day. Then it heals wrong, and now they have a handicap and they can’t survive very well,” DeArment said. “We’ve gotten reports on hawks down for four days. That’s urgent. We need to get on it because four days of no eating? That animal is starting to get depleted of its own energy. Wild animals, they’re afraid of us. The two-legged animals are predators and they think ‘oh, here comes a two-legged predator and they’re going to eat me.’”