Where To Get Help For Baby Squirrels - Toronto Wildlife Centre

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Wildlife Rehabilitation

Baby squirrels should receive care from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained to provide care for wild animals. They are licensed to do so by provincial and/or federal governments.

Baby squirrels need specialized formula, species-specific housing, and medical treatment that you cannot provide at home. They also have to be raised with other baby squirrels to learn the social behaviours they need to survive in the wild. Please contact a wildlife rehabilitator right away for help with the baby squirrel you have found.

Help for baby squirrels in Toronto and King Township

If you have found a baby squirrel in Toronto or King Township, please fill out our online Request Assistance Form and leave us a message. Please note that you may receive a response via email. Please make sure to check your inbox and junk folder regularly after submitting the form.

Toronto residents: Please note that Toronto Wildlife Centre is sometimes at capacity for common baby species, like squirrels, and if you have received a message stating that TWC is full for baby squirrels, you will need to seek assistance from another wildlife rehabilitator – please see the OMNRF list of authorized wildlife rehabilitators and/or the map on our website for more information.

Please click here for next steps and more information if you are unable to find a wildlife rehabilitator to help you.

Our hours are 9am-6pm, seven days a week (yes, even on holidays!) and we will respond as quickly as we can.

Help for baby squirrels outside of Toronto and King Township

Due to grouping requirements for babies outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, TWC is only able to admit baby squirrels from the City of Toronto and King Township. Please refer to the baby squirrel section of this website to determine the best course of action for your situation, which often includes attempting to reunite the babies with their mother for a period of time.

Baby squirrels found alone should NOT be assumed to be orphaned and in most cases, giving mom the chance to retrieve her babies is the best thing to do.

If you cannot reach a wildlife rehabilitator right away

Keep trying. Wildlife rehabilitators are very busy, especially during the spring and summer. If you get an answering machine, leave a message and make it easy for them to reach you. Call around to others in the area. Be willing to arrange transportation for the animal once a rehabilitator is found. Remember that there is no government funding for wildlife rehabilitation in Ontario, and all rehabilitators are funded almost entirely by donations.

While you may be tempted, you cannot keep the baby raccoon or care for them yourself. The vast majority of information on raising wildlife found on the internet is incorrect and, even worse, harmful to baby wild animals. Learn more here.

If you cannot find a wildlife rehabilitator able to admit the baby raccoon you have found, and you have had the baby for 24 hours or more, and reuniting the baby with their mother has failed, unfortunately options are limited. In most cases, you will be referred to contact your municipal animal services agency. Learn more here.

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