Injured Wildlife Rescue – My Baby CA Quail Story

Today I was reminded of some of the unsung heros who are always there for hurt and distressed wildlife. Sure there are those shows on The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet where people are pulling boa constrictors and alligators out of backyard pools, but what about your everyday, run of the mill ordinary animals hit by cars, attacked by pet cats or otherwise harmed?

By the way: cats kill over four million birds in the U. S. every day and more than 20 percent of the animals treated in wildlife hospitals have been caught by a cat.

This morning I pulled a California Quail chick from the mouth of a family member’s cat, luckily there is a wildlife hospital specializing in rescuing and rehabilitating injured wild birds nearby. I was able to drop the baby quail off, free of charge and even given a check-in number to call back and monitor the progress of my little birds road to recovery.


Lindsay Wildlife Museum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, also runs a wildlife hospital which runs entirely from donations and receives thousands of animals a year. Just this last week the hospital received 227 animals, bringing the total for this year up to June 24th to 3062! Patients include foxes, bobcats, squirrels, owls, turtles and more.

Many years back, I found a baby bird which had fallen out of a nest in San Diego and took it to Project Wildlife’s Triage Center. It turns out it was a pigeon chick, but the staff treated it with as much care as if it was a bald eagle chick.

Both of these wildlife centers are animal hospitals for animals with no owners, no responsible party, and more importantly, no insurance. It is the work of hard working volunteers, dedicated medical staff and donations from compassionate individuals such as yourself so that these injured wild animals have somewhere to go. Thank you for this service so I don’t feel helpless to do nothing as a wild animal dies in my hands.

P.S. If you would like to check in on my rescued baby California quail, and maybe even donate a little money to aid in his recovery, his hospital admission number is 3118, and you can check in on him by calling (925) 935-1978 between 2:00 and 4:00pm Pacific Time.

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If you have found a wild animal in need of help, check with these organizations who can provide assistance:

California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators

National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association

International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council

Wildlife International