How can you rescue "prickly" wildlife?
Last night we were crossing a long bridge (on our way home from dropping my niece off at her home) and spotted a porcupine ambling along on the bridge. Assuming he made it to the other side, without being hit by a car, he will have found himself in the middle of downtown Anchorage!  We debated going back and trying to turn him around....but that seemed....unwise  We then talked about calling someone....but WHO?? Fish and Wildlife was closed, (it was midnight) Animal control are ill-prepared to deal with something like this, and dialing 911 to report a porcupine in peril seemed like it might lie in the hazy area of "frivolous use". We wound up just watching him for a bit to make sure he wasn't about to get hit, and then drove on home, feeling sorta bummed.
What should we have done? I know this sounds kinda silly, but porcupines are very cute, plus they are QUITE dangerous, especially to dogs...so an urban area is no place for them  |
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| Good question!
It's hard being sensitive. |
| you watched him till he was safe. that is all you could have done & the right thing to do!
I know how you feel. I often have to pull to the side of the road when I see a dead animal (until I stop crying). I am the first person to arrive in my classroom in the AM. Often there is a mouse cowering in the bathroom. I get 2 cups pick to him up & let him go in the woods by the school (okay now everyone know I am nuts ) 
Do you think it is the same mouse each time? LOL  |
I'm the wrong person to ask. I once stopped to get a bunch of baby skunks out of the road. Their mom and been hit and they kept coming to her. I had to get a big stick and move her so they wouldn't get hit, too. I felt terrible because I didn't really know what else to do to help them. There was man out in his yard nearby who kept yelling that they were going to spray me. No kidding.  But, I couldn't let them get hit.
And, I always stop and move the box turtles out of the road when I pass one. I'm afraid they're not fast enough and will get hit by a car.
I am not sure what I'd do about a porcupine. Tough call. |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: Tough call. Prickly situation?
Really stuck for an answer? |
That is really sad! Poor porcupine! I'm not sure how you would rescue him... especially if he's big. I've rescued turtles and frogs from the road before, but not a porcupine. I would think they might get scared and try to hurt you. 
Maybe if you contact wildlife and tell them about it, they can provide tips for any future run-ins with an out-of-place spiky creature. |
| Hi,
Well you did the best you could under the circumstances. Good for you for caring. I always carry a crate in my car for emergencies, as well as extra dog leash, first aid kit and muzzle. In a pinch you could use panty hose for emergency muzzle as an injured animal is more apt to bite out of fear or in pain. The crate would have worked for the porcupine. I just get mine for a few dollars at a second hand store but guess a box will have worked just as good too. Marianne |
| I guess you did the best you could under those circumstances.
Hopefully the porcupine can take care of himself and went back to it's place after cruising around for a while. I'm glad there's still people who care! |
| When it comes to wild animals, how to help, whether to help, how much to help are alway tough questions.
Ive done volunteer work for wild animal rescue on a number of occasions, and have had to call in Fish and Wildlife several times to figure out what to do about a sick, injured, or displaced critter. Some creatures can literally get used to people SO easily, that if you "help" them once, you had better plan on looking after them for life!
We made the mistake of feeding a weasel once.... .....very bad idea....he insisted from then on that we were SUPPOSED to feed him, and if we didn't, he'd just come in and TAKE what he wanted! (which was catfood, by the way) The up side of that was that we never had mice, voles or shrews around the house.
We still have a pair of Great Horned owls that hang out around our house, just because when they were babies, and got lost from their nest (they could fly, but just barely) we TALKED to them, and tried to comfort them while they waited for their parents. According to Fish and Wildlife: "Whatever you do, dont FEED them, or they'll never hunt again....owls are kind of stupid that way."
According to my niece, there were no dead porcupines on the road the next day, so presumably he made it!  |
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