Bay Area Wildlife Centers Help Animals Recover After Brutal Heat Wave

Last week's extreme heat wave didn't just take a toll on humans.

Wildlife centers across the Bay Area have been seeing a flood of furry and feathered patients pouring in.

The Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley was packed Tuesday night with 200 baby squirrels. The intense heat left the little critters trying to wiggle out of their nests to cool down.

"What we think is that they’re trying to find a cooler spot, but of course they don’t have they ability to climb, so they shift a little bit and that’s when they fall out," said Laura Hawkins with the wildlife center.

Wildlife centers are busy trying to nurse the babies back to health, hand-feeding them special formula several times a day.

"We have had to do call-outs to ask volunteers that are not regularly scheduled to come in, and our staff has actually been doing some at their own desks," Hawkins said.

It’s not just squirrels that suffered during the record heat. WildCare in San Rafael saw an influx of baby birds as well, including songbirds and baby band-tailed pigeons.

"They were also jumping out of the nests due to the heat," said Melanie Piazza with WildCare. "Just so hot. If you can, imagine being cuddled up with all your siblings in one bed and that heat."

On the ground, a litter of opossums was found in a tire well suffering from heat exhaustion.

"A lot of squirrels come in, a lot of denning animals, too, because it gets really hot underneath where they’re denning," Piazza said. "Opossums, skunks, and raccoons, everybody’s trying to beat the heat."

Experts said the ongoing drought has made it worse as animals struggle to find water. They said if you find a heat sick or injured animal, never try to care for it yourself. Leave that to the experts.

"We hope that they will just get out there and be wild again, which is a pretty good chance," Hawkins said. "If they come in small, we can take care of them and make sure they live a wild life once again."