Call of the Wild Animal Control

06/11/2026

Be that weird guy who pulled over and checked on the animal that was hit by a car to see if it was still alive and needed help.

Be the construction worker that left work early while his buddies laughed at him because he found an injured squirrel and wanted to get it to safety.

Be the irritating woman who isn’t afraid to stop traffic because a mama duck is trying to cross the road with her babies.

Be the gross person who isn’t disgusted by a mangy fox and sees it as an animal that needs help from the right people.

Be the aggravating informant who tells the guy buying rat poison what it does to our local wildlife.

Be the uncool kid who stops his friends from trying to hurt a snake they found for fun.

When we start feeling bad or embarrassed for showing EMPATHY toward another and trying to SAVE A LIFE, then we have let the opinions of others mean WAY too much.

Never apologize for being a good and caring human being. There aren’t enough in this world.

Jane Newhouse
Newhouse Wildlife Rescue

06/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aHCkCeVAn/

Early summer, and the snakes are on the move — through gardens, along fences, across warm paths in the evening. Most people meet a snake and reach for a shovel. You don't need to know which snake it is. You need to know one thing: leave it alone, and it leaves you alone 🐍

🐍 Common garter snake — the one you see most. Slim, striped, completely harmless. She spends her day eating slugs, grubs and the insects chewing your vegetables. The most useful neighbor your garden has, and the one most often killed by mistake

🐍 Eastern rat snake — long, dark, and a brilliant climber. She's not after you, she's after the mice and rats in your shed and woodpile. One rat snake working your property is better rodent control than any trap

🐍 Northern water snake — found near ponds, streams and pool edges. Harmless, but quick to flatten her head and bluff when cornered, which is why she's so often mistaken for something dangerous. Step back and she'll slip into the water

🐍 Eastern milk snake — smooth and glossy with reddish-brown saddles. She eats rodents and other snakes, including young copperheads. Her pattern mimics a venomous snake on purpose, a bluff that fools predators and people alike

🐍 Copperhead — the one venomous snake worth recognizing across much of the eastern states. Coppery head, hourglass bands. She won't chase you and she'd rather not bite. Give her a wide path and let her go her own way

🌿 The universal mistakes to avoid:
- Don't kill a snake to be safe — most bites happen when someone tries to handle or kill one
- Don't reach in to identify it; you never need to touch a snake to deal with it
- Don't assume harmless means tame — every snake bluffs when cornered, so give space instead of a hand
- If you're not sure what it is, treat it like the copperhead: back away and let it leave

You don't have to love them to let them pass 🐍

06/03/2026

05/30/2026

A bat circling the yard at dusk is hunting. A bat inside the house needs an exit. A bat on the ground during the day needs a call to a rehabber. Three situations, three responses.

🌿 Bat flying in the yard at dusk — normal. Leave it.

Bat inside the house — open a window or door. Turn off interior lights, leave the exit lit. She'll find it. If she doesn't, place a container over her with thick gloves, slide cardboard underneath, release outside.

Bat on the ground during the day — don't touch with bare hands. Call animal control or a wildlife rehabilitator.

Bat in the bedroom overnight — contact your doctor. Post-exposure evaluation is recommended because a bite may not be felt during sleep.

🐾 The bat in the soffit has likely been there for multiple seasons. She returns because the structure works as a roost and the yard produces insects after dark.

Three situations. Three calm responses. Most encounters need nothing more than an open window 🌿

05/24/2026

🐢

World Turtle Day reminds us to act quickly for these creatures. You have about five seconds to ensure safety.

The entire guide:

🐢 Step one — identify:

- Snapping turtle (large, spiky tail, aggressive posture): do not grab near the head — her neck reaches two-thirds of the shell length. Use a towel, floor mat, or flat object slid underneath to push her across. Or grip the very back edge of the shell only. Lift briefly. Set down. Not by the tail — it damages vertebrae

- Painted, box, spotted, or any smaller turtle: pick up by the shell sides, one hand on each side behind the front legs. Keep low to the ground

🐢 Step two — direction:

- Always move her to the side she was heading. If you move her backward, she turns around and crosses again. She's going somewhere specific

🐢 Step three — release:

- Set her down on the far shoulder, off the pavement. Then leave

🐢 Two exceptions:

- Box turtle (high dome, orange markings) — she's terrestrial. Do not put her in a pond. She can drown. Move her across the road only

- Turtle sitting on the shoulder and not moving — she may be nesting. Leave her. She'll finish on her own

Five seconds. One decision. A life that may be older than yours.

05/21/2026

Raccoon eviction from a garage in southbourough today .....after we got mom and her 2 kits out of the garage and the garage secure, we place her 2 kits in our nesting box and reintroduced mom.....we then moved the nesting box to the customers back yard, unlocked the box and tonight she should relocate her kits to a new nesting site on her own !
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Call of the Wild Animal Control

05/17/2026

Vid #2 after mom was reintroduced to her 4 kits we gave her some time to calm down and nurse her kits ......after repairs were done we quietly unlocked the door so she could move em to a new nesting sight!

05/17/2026

Vid #1 we had a mother raccoon make her home in someone's seasonal cottage in Belchertown the other day ....we were able to trap her ....seal off the entrypoints and reunite mom and kits in a nesting box where she was able to relocate her kits elsewhere in a humane fashion!

05/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17F7zLRmRK/

Don’t touch the babies.