a swan in a cardboard box, an eastern cottontail rabbit with a gaping flesh wound sitting on a lavender fleece blanket in a tote, a white pelican on ice with a missing right wing, a juvenile raccoon lying in a cage feeling sick

Who to call about Wisconsin wildlife in need

Help for wildlife in Dane County and surrounding areas

Before intervening, make sure a wild animal needs help.
Always call an organization before bringing them an animal. If you're able to send them photos or videos, it will help them assess the situation.
Follow health and safety protocols before approaching a wild animal.
Do not offer water, formula, milk, or food to an infant animal of any species. Learn how this can harm or kill them.
Be aware of avian flu (HPAI), which can be contagious and deadly to avian and mammalian predators and scavengers.
If a wildlife rehabilitator helps you, donate, if you can.
Remember many of these organizations are run by volunteers with jobs, families, and finite resources, room, and hours in a day.
In the busy season, some rehabbers are forced to make the agonizing decision to "close" for specific species due to limited human resources and space. It can be incredibly frustrating. Please consider whether you could get involved in the future.
Never trap and relocate a wild animal.
Please report sick or dead animals (excluding hit-by-car deaths) to the DNR for data-tracking purposes.

The information on this site is current as of winter/spring 2025.

Wisconsin WildCare (WWC)

Yes: mammals (infants, juveniles, and adults), including squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, raccoons, woodchucks, ground squirrels, flying squirrels, opossums, mice, voles.

No: bats, skunks, deer, foxes, coyotes, birds, reptiles, amphibians.

This is a network of wildlife rehabilitators in South Central Wisconsin, with help available in Monona, Madison, Sun Prairie, DeForest, Waunakee, and surrounding areas.

wiwildcare.org

Call their help line: 608-237-7060 and leave a message. Their on-duty volunteers will receive it and call or text you back ASAP. Voicemail is monitored seven days a week throughout the day and evening.

Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center
(DCHS)

Yes: mammals (including bats), songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, reptiles, amphibians.

No: eyes-closed infant mammals, raccoons, deer, skunks, house sparrows, European starlings.

giveshelter.org/wildlife-center

708-287-3235

wildlife@giveshelter.org

5132 Voges Rd.

Madison, Wisconsin

Open 9-5 daily, including weekends.

Dane County Animal Services

Dane County Animal Services Officers are no longer permitted to respond to calls about wildlife unless they pose an immediate threat to human health or safety.

publichealthmdc.com

Animal Services Officer Dispatch:
608-255-2345

Hoo's Woods Raptor Center

Yes: raptors (birds of prey)

hooswoods.org

608-883-2795

Milton, Wisconsin

UW–Madison Vet Hospital

May provide euthanasia services but does not provide wildlife rehab services.

uwveterinarycare.wisc.edu

608-263-7600

2015 Linden Dr.

Madison, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

The DNR is a great resource for information about keeping wildlife wild. Their website also links to a list of wildlife rehabbers statewide. It isn't protocol, but depending on who answers your call, it may be suggested to "let nature take its course." Please report any instance of this advice to the DNR contact listed on their website so they can follow-up with training.

dnr.wisconsin.gov

M-F hotline: 608-267-0866

Weekend hotline: 888-936-7463

Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control

This is not a rescue organization but rather a franchise branch located in Madison that serves customers looking for humane solutions to conflicts with wildlife that work (as opposed to companies that trap animals but don't adequately seal access points, leaving the problem to persist). They are the only humane wildlife control company in this area. Be very skeptical of any other business that claims to safely and humanely capture and release (or rescue or reunite) wildlife, including infants. Trapping and releasing wild animals in new locations is almost always a death sentence and often illegal. Homeowners are often horrified to find orphaned babies left behind – sometimes trapped and left to die in walls, soffits, or eaves – when mothers are trapped and killed or removed.

skedaddlewildlife.com

888-592-0387

Fellow Mortals

yes: songbirds, raptors, mammals of all ages, including beavers, otters, minks, bats, woodchucks, opossums, bunnies, squirrels.

No: reptiles, amphibians, raccoons, deer, coyotes, foxes.

fellowmortals.org

262-248-5055

W4632 Palmer Rd.

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Wildlife in Need (WIN)

Accepts animals only from Waukesha, Dodge, Jefferson, and Washington Counties.

Yes: songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, mammals (no eyes-closed infants) including otters, minks, opossums, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, bats, mice.

No: deer, fox, coyote, eyes-closed infant mammals.

helpingwildlife.org

262-965-3090

W349S1480 Waterville Rd.

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Raptor Education Group, Inc. (REGI)

Yes: sick, injured, or orphaned bird species.

raptoreducationgroup.org

715-623-4015

N2160 W. Rollwood Rd.

Antigo, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Wildlife Rehabber Map

This map offers a geographical view of many of the organizations listed on this page, with links to each.

Please note that because Wisconsin Wildcare is a decentralized organization throughout South Central Wisconsin, there is not a single location for them on the map. Find them at wisconsinwildcare.org.

Animal Help Now

Animal Help Now is an incredibly useful directory of wildlife rehabilitators nationwide. Enter your location to find a list of rehabbers who may be able to help if other nonprofit organizations are full.

ahnow.org