LORENA, TX — It's the busiest time of year for Wildlife Rehab Lorena.
During the spring season, Wildlife Rehab Lorena Director Rachel Sine runs around for 16 hours a day. It's a constant cycle of feeding and medicating the animals in her care.
Sine said things start to pick up in February, and by May, it's in full swing as all kinds of baby animals are being born.
Since January, the rehab center has taken in more than 300 animals.
"Right now we've got 113 animals in our care," Sine said. "June, July and August will just be insane."
Lately, Sine has been receiving plenty of bunnies, opossums, raccoons, owls and foxes.
Animals will stay at the rehab center for weeks to months, depending on the severity of their condition.
Two of the foxes in Sine's care came in covered in fleas after they were caught in a trap and separated from their mother. Another fox was brought to her with a broken leg.
"Some of them require a lot more attention than the others do," Sine said.
Sine said people drop off animals they find or trap themselves on a daily basis. She said they also receive animals regularly from game wardens, the sheriff's office, police departments or animal control.
"Cases are about 10 a day right now," Sine said. "That could be a couple foxes, a bunch of birds, 10 bunnies at a time."
Sine said the majority of animals are found injured or alone, but sometimes people pick up animals that don't need to be rescued.
"A lot of fledglings are on the ground. They're fully feathered and on the ground hopping while the parents are still caring for it," Sine said. "They see the baby birds hopping around and they're like oh my gosh it's abandoned and they bring it in."
Sine said this also happens a lot with bunnies.
"The most we've received right now is cotton tail rabbits," Sine said. "The biggest thing is people can't leave them alone. They're worried about cats and neighborhood dogs getting them. They won't put them back, they won't leave them alone, they don't realize that mom only comes once at night."
Sine said people should call her first to explain the situation the animal is in before they decide to interfere. The number for Wildlife Rehab Lorena is 505-715-9167.
"That way we can best advise them," Sine said. "Do they need to put it back? Do they need to bring it in? Do they need to try and re-nest it?
In 2018, Wildlife Rehab Lorena took in 650 animals. Sine expects them to take in more than 1,000 by the end of 2019.
Sine said they desperately need more volunteers and donations to help these animals. Right now, it's just her and one volunteer vet tech tending to the animals most days.
"I could really use five volunteers each day," Sine said.
If you're interested in becoming a volunteer or making a donation, click here.
You can also follow Wildlife Rehab Lorena on Facebook.
