What you can do before a disaster, during it, and in the weeks that follow. Water points, an animal sheltering in a garden, who to call and in what order.
Before
What is prepared outside an emergency saves more animals than what is improvised on the day of the fire. Six actions, all achievable in an ordinary garden.
Leave a water point available
A wide, shallow dish placed on the ground for hedgehogs and insects, and a second one higher up for birds.
Add stones and branches: without them, the smallest animals fall in and drown. It is the most common mistake.
Change the water every day to limit bacterial risks, and place the point in the shade. Lukewarm, stagnant water does more harm than good.
The most useful action on this list, and the cheapest.Plant native species
A hazel, an elder, a laburnum or a hawthorn feed local wildlife. A thuja or a cherry laurel feed nothing.
Local species produce fruit at the right time and shelter the insects that birds and small mammals depend on. It is a slow action, and it is the one that lasts.
Clear brush without stripping the land
The statutory brush clearance around homes remains mandatory, and it also protects the animals living nearby.
Keep a wood pile, a stone pile and a patch of tall grass at the back of the plot: these are the shelters. Avoid the period from March to August, when most species are raising their young.
Put your water points and shelters on the map
A point placed today helps someone else on the day of the fire.
It is what lets volunteers run a refill round instead of searching at random, and lets rescuers know where animals gather.
Prepare the evacuation of your own animals
One carrier per animal, kept within easy reach, not at the back of an attic.
A cat that never goes into its carrier will not go in under smoke. Bring the carrier out a week before summer and leave it open in the living room.
Write down the numbers before you need them
The nearest wildlife rescue centre, the on-duty vet, the town hall.
The map’s directory keeps them up to date, and works without an account.
During
During a disaster, the rule is to do little, and to do it well. Most animals get themselves to safety if nothing gets in their way.
A wild animal has taken refuge near your home
Set up a quiet spot for it, away from foot traffic, in the shade, with water within reach.
Leave it enough room to flee: an animal that feels trapped injures itself trying to get out.
Do not try to see it, do not photograph it up close, keep dogs and children at a distance. An animal that rests recovers; an animal being watched leaves exhausted.
Do not approach it, and always leave it a way out.Water first, food later
A fleeing animal is dehydrated long before it is hungry.
Give neither milk, nor bread, nor table scraps. Cow’s milk causes fatal diarrhoea in almost all wild mammals, hedgehogs included.
Handle the animal only if it is in immediate danger
Thick gloves, a cardboard box with air holes, a towel to cover the head. Darkness and silence calm; voices and light make the stress worse.
Never a wire cage for a bird: feathers are destroyed in it within a few hours. No water or food in the box during transport.
Who to call, and in what order
The wildlife rescue centre first: it is the only body authorised to treat and keep a wild animal.
A vet next, for first aid or euthanasia if the animal is suffering.
The fire brigade only responds for an animal as a second call, and never at the expense of a human emergency. That is normal, and worth keeping in mind.
Do not get in the way of rescue services
No vehicles on the tracks, no drones over an active front: a drone grounds all aerial firefighting.
A report placed on the map is worth more than travelling in person into a burning area.
Mind the ground, even after the fire has passed
Tarmac and sand hold heat for hours after the front, and burn paw pads from fifty-two degrees.
The map’s “Ground heat” layer gives the real temperature of streets and paths, hour by hour.
After
The weeks that follow matter as much as the day of the fire: water, shelter and natural food all disappeared at once.
Leave the water in place for several weeks
Natural water points take months to return, and surviving animals gather around the few that are maintained.
A water point abandoned after three days does more harm than if it had never existed: the animals have learnt to rely on it.
This is when refill rounds matter most.Report injured animals, and dead ones too
A dead animal that is reported tells us which species were hit and spares another volunteer a pointless trip.
Do not handle it with bare hands. For a protected species, removal is regulated: report it, do not move it.
Do not replant straight away, or with just anything
Bare soil recolonises itself in the first months, and that is often the best possible outcome.
Replanting too early compacts fragile ground; planting exotic species deprives wildlife of food for years to come.
Pets sometimes come back on their own
A lost cat often returns to its territory two to three weeks after the event.
Keep the point open on the map and do not close it too early: that is what lets a neighbour make the connection.
Frequently asked questions
The questions most often put to wildlife rescue centres and local volunteers.
Can I feed a wild animal?
Outside a disaster, no. Feeding creates dependency, gathers animals in one place and spreads disease.
During and after a disaster, water is always justified. Food, only on the advice of a rescue centre.
I found a fawn on its own — has it been abandoned?
Almost never. The mother leaves it motionless for hours and comes back to feed it.
A fawn that has been touched or moved may be rejected. Move away, and come back to check twelve hours later.
A bird has fallen from the nest — what should I do?
If it has feathers, it is learning to fly: leave it be, simply put it out of reach of cats.
If it is bare, put it back in the nest if you can see it; otherwise call a rescue centre. It is a myth that human scent makes the parents reject a chick.
A hedgehog out in broad daylight — is it serious?
Yes. It is a nocturnal animal: a hedgehog visible in the daytime, motionless or staggering, is in distress.
Call a rescue centre the same day. In the meantime: a cardboard box, a towel, some water, and quiet.
Am I allowed to keep a wild animal at home?
No. Keeping an animal of a protected species is prohibited, even with the best intentions and even for a few days.
Transporting it to a rescue centre, on the other hand, is expected of you.
Who pays for a wild animal’s care?
Rescue centres treat animals free of charge, and live on donations.
Nothing will be asked of you. A donation to the centre remains the most effective way to help after dropping off an animal.
How long can an animal stay in my garden?
As long as it chooses. As long as it drinks, moves around and shows no injury, there is nothing to do but leave it alone.
Should you report an animal you have simply spotted?
Yes if the place matters to rescuers or volunteers: an unusual gathering, an animal trapped by a fence, a dangerous road.
No if it is well and not under threat. The map loses its readability if everything ends up on it.