Found a wild animal: what to do

Turn off the light, open the window wide, close the doors to other rooms and leave for half an hour: in summer it usually finds its way out. Do not grab it or swat it with a towel. If it lands and does not fly off, cover it with a box, slide cardboard underneath, carry it out and release it at dusk — wearing gloves.

Darkness and an open window work better than any catching: turn off the lights, open the window, take pets out of the room and wait. If by morning it still hangs on the curtain, cover it with a box and carry it out in the evening. Never pick up a bat with bare hands.

In summer, leave a window open and it will fly off at night. If you find it on a balcony in winter or in the cold, it has woken from hibernation: it must not be released into the frost and needs to be kept somewhere cool and dark until it is warmer. Contact a bat rescue or wildlife rehabilitator; the report helps until then.

Light and insects at an open window attract them, and young bats at the end of summer are still poor at finding their way. In the fall they look for a place to hibernate and get into stairwells, balconies and attics. It is a normal situation, not a sign of something dangerous in the house.

Wash the area with soap for 10–15 minutes and see a doctor the same day: bats can carry rabies, and a bite is small and easy to miss. The same applies if a bat was in a room where someone was asleep or with a child. If possible, keep the bat contained for animal control without touching it with bare hands.

First decide whether it needs help: a healthy hedgehog sleeps during the day. A hedgehog out in daylight, wobbling, lying on its side or covered in flies needs help. Pick it up in gloves, put it in a box with fabric, warm it with a bottle of warm water, weigh it and take photos — and contact a hedgehog rescue or the veterinarian.

Wet cat or dog food without gravy, boiled chicken, egg; water in a shallow dish. Milk and bread are not for hedgehogs: they cannot digest milk, and it causes diarrhea and dehydration. In the first hour a found hedgehog is not fed: warmth and rest first.

In winter a hedgehog should be asleep. If it is out on the snow, its hibernation has been broken — by hunger, illness or a destroyed nest — and it will not survive outside. Take it in a box to a cool quiet place, weigh it, offer food and water, and contact a hedgehog rescue; such a hedgehog is kept until spring.

If the mother is alive and nearby, cover the nest again and leave: she will move them herself. If the mother has died, or the hoglets are cold and have been squeaking for hours, warmth comes first: a box and a bottle of warm water under fabric. Then a formula for the species every two to three hours; cow's milk is not suitable. The veterinarian sets out the feeding schedule in the plan.

Give the mother a chance first: put a warm, dry, unhurt baby in an open box at the foot of the tree, in cool weather with a warm water bottle under fabric, and leave for two to four hours, keeping cats away. The mother usually takes it back. Take it in if it is cold, wet, has flies or blood, or the mother has not come by dusk.

No. A hare does not stay with her young so as not to attract predators, and comes to feed them once or twice a day. A dry, warm leveret lying quietly is normal and is left alone. Help is needed if it is cold, injured, brought by a cat or dog, or you saw the mother die. A leveret already picked up can go back to the same spot.

After payment you receive a link to the questionnaire by email: photos, video, weight, where you found the animal and what you have done. The veterinarian assesses urgency and writes what is most likely wrong, how to keep it, warm it and feed it for its species, which medicines to discuss with a veterinarian or rehabilitator, and when the plan changes. The reply comes within 24 hours of the questionnaire.

Wildlife rehabilitation centers are not in every region, and zoos and ordinary clinics do not always accept wild animals. In the report the veterinarian helps you care for the animal in the first days — warmth, feeding, monitoring, signs that mean a clinic — and suggests who to contact: volunteers, a wildlife rehabilitator, animal control or your wildlife authority.