“The whole ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All,’ it’s great!” says Victoria Campbell, owner of WildThings Sanctuary in Ithaca, New York. Campbell specializes in bat rehabilitation, and when Case called in her winged rescue, they sent her to Campbell. “They showed up at almost midnight with this baby bat,” she says. “I was like ‘Wow, where did you find it?’ and they were like, ‘We were out playing Pokémon Go.’”
Over the past couple of weeks, Cornell Animal Hospital has gotten in a screech owl, rabbits, an opossum, and a baby squirrel, all from players out hunting fake monsters, says Campbell. In her nine years as a wildlife rehabilitator, no fad has brought in as many injured critters: “This is pretty much the first time I’ve seen something like this,” she says.
This trend, too, is sweeping the nation. In Rochester, New York, a man Pokémoning found eight ducklings stuck in a storm drain, and flagged down an officer, who yanked open the grate. (With actual animals, “you catch them in real life,” the rescuer told TWC News.)
This makes me really happy, and I’m also super stoked that having their mobile in hand can help remind people to look up info before interfering with the animal. I’d go so far as to say, contact your local rehabilitation center and ask them what you should do with the animal before you even think about approaching it closely or picking it up. Thanks to cameraphones you can even snap pictures or video to text or email to the rehabilitator you’re speaking to so they can assess the animal. It’s really important to know what you’re doing before you interfere with any kind of wildlife… there are times when the action necessary is obvious (like untangling an animal from a barbed wire fence), and times when you shouldn’t interfere at all (it’s actually pretty normal for juvenile birds to be hanging out on the ground when they’re learning to fly). An experienced wildlife rehabilitator will be able to tell you what course of action to take for the animal.
Also remember with increased activity come increased expenses and staff hours. If you find a critter and bring it in, or even if you’re just enjoying hearing about all the rescues, consider tossing a few dollars in the donation jar or giving online when you get home from your hunt.
Pokémon Go Players Are Rescuing Lots Of Real Wildlife
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