Modoc National Wildlife Refuge

Not all sick, injured, or orphaned animals require human intervention or rehabilitation.

It is important to minimize human impacts on animal populations. This often includes limiting human intervention during natural causes of animal injury or death (depredation, disease, storms, etc.). Interrupting food-web dynamics may result in cascading impacts on wildlife communities and ecosystem health. Dead or dying animals provide an important food source for many species of wildlife. Your desire to “rescue” them might be strong, however there is no animal worth risking your life or the lives of those who might have to rescue you. While it is sometimes difficult to witness life and death in nature, a good phrase to keep in mind is, "If you care, leave it there!"

Please visit the Shasta Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation "If you care leave them there!" webpage for more information. 

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Please do not attempt to rehabilitate wildlife on your own; special permits and knowledge are required. Always contact a licensed professional. You can contact the Shasta Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc. if you have questions about what to do. 

Our staff do not rehabilitate injured wildlife. For contact information on local wildlife rehabilitators, please visit the California Department of Fish & Wildlife website. We can try to help get you in contact with a licensed rehabilitator and in some instances, we may help you capture and transport the animal under certain circumstances. 

If you have found a deceased eagle, please contact your local California DFW Officer or our office to arrange pickup or dropoff. It is illegal to possess any part of an eagle, including feathers. 

For any immediate criminal activity or emergency on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land, please contact your local authority for that area or dial 911. To report a problem on Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, please contact our office at 530-233-3572.

Wildlife-related criminal activity should be reported to CALTIP (Californians Turn in Poachers and Polluters) via call, text, or online, or to federal wildlife officers through the FWS TIPS hotline or via email. 

Help Protect Our Wildlife! Turn In Poachers!