Frequently Asked Questions

  • We do not want to kidnap any healthy babies. All wildlife is best raised by their parents in the wild. Sometimes, mom has left the baby for a short while to gather food. Rabbit moms only tend to the young at dawn/dusk and deer leave their babies in a safe area while they forage.

    Use the links below to help you determine if the baby needs help.

    If any of the following apply, the baby automatically needs our help:

    • You know the mother is dead

    • The baby is cold

    • The baby is covered in insects

    • The baby has injuries

    • The baby has been in the mouth of another animal

    • The baby animal is an opossum

    • The baby animal is a bat. Never handle a bat bare-handed. Here's how to safely capture and contain a bat.

    Please text us a picture or call us at (317) 625-3404 right away if you believe the animal may be orphaned or in need of help. Never feed orphaned wildlife or attempt to raise them yourselves. Please consider making a donation to help us provide for their care. Animal Help Now has even more information about orphaned wildlife on their website.

  • We can help animals that are capturable. Some injuries we can treat ourselves and others may require a trip to our wildlife hospital.

    Please safely contain the animal. Do NOT feed the animal. Please text us a photo of the animal or call us at (317) 625-3404 right away for guidance.

  • Never handle a bat bare-handed. Here are directions for determining if the bat needs help as well as what you should do. If it is a baby bat not with its mother, it automatically needs our help.

    If you are worried it may be in need of help, please text us a photo of the bat or call us at (317) 625-3404.

  • Wildlife that has been in another animal’s mouth automatically needs our help. Please text us a photo of the animal or call us at (317) 625-3404 for assistance.

  • The Indiana Department of Natural Resources keeps a public list of wildlife rehabbers by county here. If you are outside of the state of Indiana, please go to Animal Help Now for guidance.

  • Safely capture the animal. Please keep the animal in a secure container (with air holes!) in a dark, quiet room or garage. You can provide a towel/old-tshirt/blanket and a shallow dish of water (if the animal is old enough to have its eyes open). Never force the animal to drink. Do NOT provide food. A heating pad, hot water bottle, or a heated sock full of rice can be left on one side of the container to help keep them warm. Please contact us first thing in the morning. If you are unable to reach us, you may call other permitted rehabbers. We will return your call/text as soon as possible.

  • We only take in orphaned and injured wildlife. Humane removal and exclusion from your building outside of the baby season is the kindest thing you can do. For many species, loud music, bright lights, and unpleasant but non-toxic smells (like apple cider vinegar!) can encourage them to move out by themselves. Bats can be evicted using a humane excluder outside of baby season and will likely require professional help unless you are handy and unafraid of heights!

    Once the animals are out of your property, holes or gaps will need to be repaired. If you are having a nuisance wildlife problem/wildlife conflict and need help, you can contact a wildlife removal specialist/company. Please ask questions to make sure they are following humane practices. These can be found on Animal Help Now, or through a google search.

  • Wildlife is just that, wild life. Although these animals are typically active at night, they aren’t always predictable and it is not unusual to see them in the daytime. Unless they appear injured or sick, they do not need our help.

  • No, in fact if you call us about baby rabbits, we will most likely ask you to place them back in the den (unless they are cold/injured/covered in bugs/have been in an animal's mouth or the mother is dead). This seems to be an old wife's tale that started to keep people from messing with wildlife.

    We will just tell you: Please do not disturb wildlife. Always think about whether you are helping them or harming them-even something as seemingly harmless as peeking in on a nest of birds causes stress, and stress kills wildlife. When rescuing wildlife, please do not handle wildlife with bare hands and always use caution (you can become injured or ill). Keep contact to the minimum needed to save them. Do not pet or baby the animals as this is actually very scary for them and you may end up hurting (or killing) what you were trying to save.

  • If at all possible, we ask you to please bring us the animal. We do not have enough time in the day to care for all of our animals, work our jobs, and make pickups. If you cannot bring us the animal, we can reach out to our volunteer transporters. They kindly volunteer their time and gas to assist us.

  • We greatly appreciate your assistance. At this time, we do not have enough volunteers for regular updates. We try to post updates regularly on our facebook page. We understand you want to know how they are doing, and ask that you limit calls about updates to just one so that we have more time to care for the animals.


  • Per Indiana DNR regulations, only people on our rehabilitation permits can be around the animals. We need to have the wildlife remain wild and we do not want to get them used to humans. We limit our interactions as much as possible for the good of the animals. Human interactions stress wildlife and can be deadly. We share photos, videos, and stories of our animals on facebook.

  • Our organization focuses on helping native wildlife. People donate to us to provide care for wildlife, not pets. We do not have the resources to care for domestic species. Unfortunately, we cannot help you find a home for your dog or take in an unwanted hamster. Please reach out to an organization near you that helps with pets.


  • We welcome any questions or concerns you may have. The goal of this list is just to help people with our most frequently asked questions. Please give us a call or text at (317) 625-3404. Animal Help Now also has a long list of FAQs that may answer your question.


    • We are always looking for new volunteers. Volunteers help with things like transportation, event presence, fundraising, cleaning, handy-person tasks, animal caretaking, and more! If you are interested in volunteering, please complete this short volunteer form.

    • We are also looking for more animal release sites. If you own property with acreage and natural wildlife habitat, would you consider letting us release healthy animals on your property? If you are interested in volunteering your property, please complete the short volunteer form.

    • You can also help by making a donation, sharing our Facebook posts, spreading wildlife awareness, giving our contact information to those who need help with orphaned/injured wildlife, buying some of our branded merchandise, contacting us to set up a supply donation, or visiting us in person at craft shows to buy some of our wildlife art.