Wildlife Aid Brigade to the Rescue

On Sunday, May 17, volunteers rescued a mother and four baby ducks in the launch of a pilot program called the Wildlife Aid Brigade. The project involves volunteers interested in directly helping wild animals. It was created by Sue Lunson Farinato, a Maryland wildlife rehabilitator, to protect wild animals and to assist animal shelters with the wildlife calls that they receive every day.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is the first shelter in the metro region to implement the new program. So far one AWLA volunteer has completed the wildlife training and two more are in progress.

On Sunday afternoon a caller from a pool at a large high-rise apartment complex in Arlington reported that a mallard female and her ducklings were unable to get out of the pool. Our Wildlife Aid Brigade volunteer, Tracy Coppola, accompanied by Sue Farinato, responded. Sue described the rescue:

The staff at the apartment complex was very helpful and accommodated our every request. We rigged up a raft in the corner, covered it with towels and waited for the babies to find it. They were getting tired, and mother kept hopping in and out of the pool. Finally she got out of the pool near the raft and the ducklings hopped onto the raft then out of the pool.

Meanwhile I had contacted Lee Prouty, one of the WAB instructors very experienced in waterfowl rescue. She called a Virginia rehabber, Jim Snyder, who came out to assist us. We could not leave the mother and babies there, because the pool ourtyard was entirely surrounded by a 3' wall. The mother could not have led the babies to food, and there was nothing but concrete inside the courtyard. Jim arrived and we came up with a plan for capturing them.

Extremely careful work allowed us to get within a few feet of the mother, and Jim netted her. Tracy and I caught the babies, and they all were put in the same carrier for transport to Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary, only a short distance away. …. While we can't actually relocate most species, waterfowl is one which we can!

This rescue demonstrates the time, care, and knowledge required to help wildlife in our urban environment. We hope more volunteers will join this exciting program.