Where to get help for baby squirrels

Wildlife Rehabilitation

Baby squirrels should receive care from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained to provide care for wild animals. They are licensed to do so by provincial and/or federal governments.

Baby squirrels need specialized formula, species-specific housing, and medical treatment that you cannot provide at home. They also have to be raised with other baby squirrels to learn the social behaviours they need to survive in the wild. Please contact a wildlife rehabilitator right away for help with the baby squirrel you have found.

Help for baby squirrels in Toronto and King Township

If you have found a baby squirrel in Toronto or King Township, please fill out our online Request for Assistance Form. Our hours are 9am-6pm, seven days a week (yes, even on holidays!). Please do not bring any baby squirrels to our hospital unless you have spoken with a member of our team and they have advised you to bring them in. There are times when TWC reaches capacity for baby squirrels and we may need to redirect you elsewhere. Or, there may still be a chance of reuniting the baby with their mother. Please wait for a call or email from our Wildlife Hotline team for next steps.

Help for baby squirrels outside of Toronto and King Township

As a charity, we do our best to meet the community need for help with orphaned baby squirrels. However, we receive an extremely high volume of requests and the demand far outweighs our admission capacity. We must also group baby squirrels according to where they were found in accordance with our permits. For these reasons, we admit baby squirrels from Toronto and King Township only.

There are other wildlife rehabilitators who might be able to admit the baby squirrel you’ve found. Please check the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s complete listings. You can also visit our map of wildlife rehabilitators.

If you cannot reach a wildlife rehabilitator right away

Keep trying. Wildlife rehabilitators are very busy, especially during the spring and summer. If you get an answering machine, leave a message and make it easy for them to reach you. Call around to others in the area. Be willing to arrange transportation for the animal once a rehabilitator is found. Remember that there is no government funding for wildlife rehabilitation in Ontario, and all rehabilitators are funded entirely by private donations.

While you may be tempted, you cannot keep the baby squirrel or care for it yourself. The vast majority of information on raising wildlife found on the internet is incorrect and, even worse, harmful to baby wild animals. Learn more here.

If you cannot find a wildlife rehabilitator able to admit the baby squirrel you have found, and you have had the baby for 24 hours or more, and reuniting the baby with their mother has failed, unfortunately options are limited. In most cases, you will be referred to contact your municipal animal services agency. Learn more here.