North Country Wild Care (NCWC) is a non-profit association that supports the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife throughout the NYS Capital Region. Home-based wildlife rehabilitation is a demanding undertaking, as we collectively take in thousand of animals each year…such as orphaned squirrels found after a tree is taken down, baby bunnies and birds caught by cats and dogs, orphaned fawns, or hawks, owls and eagles hit by car or poisoned. These are just a few examples of the type of wildlife from our own communities that are assisted by our  rehabilitators, always with the goal to return animals to their natural environments in the wild.

In New York State, all rehabilitators must have a state license to take-in and treat wildlife. However, the state provides no payment, reimbursement or funding, it is strictly a volunteer endeavor. That’s where North Country Wild Care comes in. NCWC was founded as a support network to assist wildlife rehabilitators to bear the heavy personal cost of caring for animals, which includes medications, medical supplies, safe housing, and species-specific food.

NCWC also provides an Emergency Hotline manned 24/7 for the public to call regarding injured or orphaned wildlife. Hotline staff provide valuable education to the general public through the 22,000+ calls per year they handle. NCWC membership includes over 45 licensed rehabilitators in nine local counties, 30 support members and hotline volunteers, and over 60 transportation volunteers. Our rehabbers work with all types of wildlife, including rabbits, deer, bobcats, otters, foxes, chipmunks, squirrels, porcupines, skunks, opossum, beavers, birds of all kind including hawks, eagles, owls and more!