CAPE COD

treating injured, ill and orphaned wildlife

PARTICIPATE! Fill out a Volunteer Application today!
Wild Care Board Needs You!
We are currently searching for candidates for Membership on the Board of Directors
and/or as a Board Committee Member to work on Fundraising, Publicity, Donor Cultivation, Events!
Click here to find out more!
 

WILD CARE, Inc. is an independent, emergency wildlife clinic that is involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, ill, and orphaned animals. We admit approximately 1000-1400 animals every year, and rely heavily on our volunteer team to help with daily operations. Our volunteers are a necessity to the success of our organization, and we seek caring people who are reliable, respectful, and trustworthy. The wildlife brought to our door need time to heal and are highly stressed. Therefore, we also seek to provide a quiet and respectful environment for them. Volunteer participation is key to all of our programs to help wildlife. The number of lives we save is directly proportional to the number of hours volunteers donate.

We are reviewing applications continuously and will notify you if your availability and experience meet our needs. Wild Care volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. This is not an opportunity for individuals primarily interested in photography, handling, or personal repetitive contact with wildlife.
Unlike zoos, museums, and aquariums, the native animals we accommodate are not for display, fundraising, educational, entertainment, or training purposes. They are here to recover from being orphaned, injured, or ill, and are intended to be returned to the wild.


Volunteer Position Descriptions

Baby Bird Program
Season: Wild Care's Baby Bird Program runs from late May through the end of August.
Commitment: We require a commitment to a three-hour shift, one day per week, for a minimum of four months.
Details: Our baby bird volunteers help raise infant songbirds in three-hour shifts between 6am to 6 pm every day. The birds must be hand-fed a special formula and be offered worms to eat. Their care also includes cleaning/disinfecting cages, dishes, and laundry, as well as changing linens, water, seed/fruit/worm dishes. We ask our volunteers to communicate with staff if any questions or concerns arise with the birds, and also if something exciting occurs, such as a bird that is beginning to self-feed!!
Orientation: May

Intensive Care Program
Season: Wild Care's Intensive Care Program runs year round, 365 days per year.
Commitment: We require a commitment to a three-hour shift, one day per week, for a minimum of six months.
Details: Our clinic volunteers are an invaluable resource. Volunteers uphold the functionality of the clinic by cleaning/disinfecting, dishes, crates, habitats, and aviaries and doing laundry. Volunteers assist in creating habitat enrichment tailored to the needs of the animals, as well as prepare food dishes for many different species of animals. Occasionally, we utilize clinic volunteers for rescue and/or transport of wildlife in distress. We also utilize volunteers to help with restraint of animals for examination, and treatment procedures.
Orientation: February

Rescue Program
Season: Wild Care's Rescue Program runs year round, 365 days per year.
Commitment: We require a flexible schedule, availability, and a year-long commitment to be a part of our rescue team.
Details: Wild Care receives a large volume of phone calls every day, regarding wildlife in distress. The callers are not always able to capture and/or transport animals to the center. We rely heavily upon our rescue team to retrieve animals that are in need of rehabilitation. Wild Care requires rescue volunteers to be “on call.” Good candidates for the rescue program include persons who have a flexible schedule/availability during business hours. Our accelerated response time contributes to a higher chance of survival for wildlife in need of immediate rescue.
Orientation: November

Administrative Program
Season: Wild Care's Administrative Program runs year round, 365 days per year.
Commitment: We require much from our administrative volunteers, for they are on an as-needed basis (which could possibly entail more than three hours a week). Minimum requirement is one day per week, for a minimum of one year.
Details: Wild Care not only needs help raising orphans, and help in the ICU, we need administrative volunteers as well. These volunteers play a critical role at Wild Care, from tracking statistics on animal admissions, record keeping, tracking patient dispositions, filing donation management, to thank you letters, web design, office maintenance and more. Fundraising is another key part of our administrative program; selling tickets, grant writing, helping set up for fundraising events, procuring prizes for our silent/loud auctions, and raffles. If you have skills that would help us in these areas, we would love to have your help!
Orientation: Ongoing

Please fill out the form below or click here to download our easy to use mail-in volunteer application!
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Telephone:
E-Mail:
WILD CARE volunteers must be at least 18 years old. The minimum time slot is three hours per week. For training in the clinic we require a year-long commitment for at least a three hour shift once a week. Volunteers are expected to find substitutes or switch shifts with one another when a scheduling conflict arises.
Availability:
Preferred day(s) of the week: Sun: Mon: Tues: Wed: Thurs: Fri: Sat:
Time preference: 6am-9am: 9am-12pm: 12pm-3pm: 3pm-6pm:
Age range: 18-25: 25-35: 35-45: 45-55: 55-65: 65+:
Interested in Wild Care's Newsletter?:
Have you received a tetanus vaccination? If so, when?
Have you received a rabies vaccination? If so, when?
Can you provide proof of immunization/titer records?
How did you learn about Wild Care?
What animals interest you most? Mammals: Birds: Reptiles:
What interests you most about volunteering for Wild Care?
Any prior training/experience in wildlife rescue & rehabilitation?
Have you volunteered before? If so, where and when? What were your volunteer duties?
What is your definition of "wildlife rehabilitation"?
Please describe why it would be rewarding to volunteer at a place like Wild Care:
Have you ever worked hands-on with wildlife? If so, what species?
What other training, education, and experience do you have working with animals?
Are you licensed? State Federally
What animals do you feel most comfortable working with? Do any animals in particular strike fear in you?
Wildlife rehabilitation can expose people to stress, parasites, bacteria, zoonotic diseases, injuries, etc. Is exposure to the risks listed above of concern for you?
Please describe how you feel about the euthanasia of wildlife.
If you were to describe yourself, what would you say are your best and least desirable qualities?
Please list your hobbies, or areas of interest.
Please select areas below in which you would like to volunteer:
Administrative
Intensive Care
Rescue
Baby Bird
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