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1. NYSDEC Licensed Rehabilitator Search

Click here to access the NYSDEC "Find a Wildlife Rehabilitator Near You" tool

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• This is the official government database of licensed wildlife rehabilitators in New York.

• We especially recommend using this search tool (or contacting the DEC's Special Licensing Unit in Albany) if you’re trying to find help for:

  • Deer

  • One of the three Rabies Vector Species (RVS): Raccoons, Bats, and Skunks

  • Black Bear

    • The above species require special permits, and there are very few licensees across the state who can accept them.

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⚠️ Please note: We’ve occasionally heard from the public that some of the information on the NYSDEC list may be outdated. If a number doesn’t work or a rehabber says they’re no longer active, try the next closest listing.

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2. Animal Help Now

Click here to search via Animal Help Now's online app

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• This nationwide directory can help connect you with wildlife rehabilitators, animal control agencies, and emergency wildlife services.

• Animal Help Now is especially helpful if:

  • You listened to our hotline options and didn’t hear any rehabbers listed near your location

  • You want a search tied to your exact address instead of based on county.

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3. North Country Wild Care Wildlife Hotline

📞 518-964-6740     northcountrywildcare.org

• From North Country Wild Care's website: "We are a nonprofit organization that formed to assist Wildlife Rehabilitators in the Schenectady, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer, Montgomery, Fulton and Essex Counties of New York."

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A Quick, Important Note About Transport,

one of the biggest unmet needs in wildlife rehabilitation.

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Many wildlife species - especially those requiring specialized permits or care (such as deer, raccoons, federally protected birds, and predator mammals) - have very limited placement options. As the season progresses, it also becomes more likely that rehabilitators near you may already be at full capacity for intakes. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for the nearest available rehabber to be an hour or even several hours away.

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Most licensed wildlife rehabilitators are volunteers caring for animals from their homes or small facilities while also balancing jobs, families, and other responsibilities (there are actually very few facilities that offer a paid rehabber position). While some rehabbers have access to volunteer transport networks, the large majority do not. Because of this, callers are often asked to arrange transport to the rehabilitator.

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We understand this isn’t always easy, and can empathize with how it might feel frustrating to be asked to drive an injured animal a long distance, especially when you didn't ask - weren't anticipating - having this responsibility put on you. However, we ask that you please try to view transport from the rehabilitator’s perspective...

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Wildlife rehabilitators don’t just care for animals for a day or two. In many cases, they are committing to WEEKS or even MONTHS of daily care. Every patient requires feeding, cleaning, monitoring, and sometimes medical treatment multiple times per day.

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If the animal you found is an orphan who still needs formula, that care can mean feeding every 2 to 3 hours - including throughout the night - for weeks at a time. That means setting alarms, waking up repeatedly overnight, and dedicating many, many hours to raising that animal until it is strong enough to return to the wild.

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So while a transport trip might feel like an inconvenient chore in the moment - whether it’s a one-hour drive or a four-hour round trip - that effort can make an enormous difference for the rehabilitator who is about to dedicate weeks or months of their life to giving that animal a second chance.

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It’s also important to understand that wildlife rehabilitators often experience a real emotional toll when callers become upset with them for not being able to travel for a pickup. If a rehabber says they can’t drive to retrieve an animal, it’s rarely because they don’t want to help - they're simply too spread thin as it is with the balancing act of "real life" and wildlife rehab.

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In many cases, lack of transport is the single biggest reason injured wildlife never makes it to care.

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Now that you may have experienced it firsthand and can really empathize with the need, if you’re looking for a meaningful way to support wildlife rehabilitation in your community, consider offering to volunteer as a transport driver. Even helping with the occasional trip can make a tremendous difference - especially during baby season, when many rehabbers are caring for animals that require feeding every two hours and simply cannot leave their current patients.

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Wildlife rehabilitation is truly a community effort, and helping with transport is one of the most valuable ways the public can support the people working to save these animals.

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Food for Thought | An Impactful Way to Help

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Many wildlife rehabilitators in New York utilize services at Cornell’s Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital in Ithaca. This is an incredible, state-of-the-art facility affiliated with Cornell University, and when the goal is still to return a patient to the wild, they often provide veterinary services to licensed wildlife rehabilitators free of charge.

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We’re talking about advanced care such as surgery, bloodwork, and radiographs. It’s an amazing resource for wildlife.

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So what prevents every rehabilitator from being able to take advantage of this level of care for animals that may truly need it?...

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You guessed it: Transportation limitations.

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If you’re looking for a meaningful way to help wildlife in your community, consider offering to volunteer as a designated transport driver to help bring animals to and/or from Ithaca for rehabilitators when specialized care is needed.

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Sometimes the difference between life and death for an animal isn’t lack of access to veterinary care - it’s simply getting them there.