At her home tucked into a state forest in the Albany County town of Berne, Kelly Martin fed baby house finches and other songbirds. A squirrel scrabbled in its cage while baby cottontail rabbits — injured by a lawnmower — rested following a regimen of pain relievers and anti-inflammatories. Martin was not sure they’d make it. Outside, a platter-sized snapping turtle soaked in a makeshift saltwater bath to treat its injuries.
For anyone who’s found a songbird injured by a window strike, a turtle hit by a car or a squirrel acting a little too friendly, one of the few — if not only — options is to contact a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator like Martin. While the number of registered rehabilitators has increased, likely due to the state moving from in-person to online exams after 2020, several say you’d never know it based on how many calls each continues to field. Among the reasons, observers say, is that new rehabilitators may not be handling an appreciable amount of work — which has only increased as more people have become aware of rehabilitators and are reaching out.
In 2019, New York had 1,407 licensed wildlife rehabilitators, with 382 licenses issued that year, according to data shared by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Five years later, 2,072 people were registered, with 594 licenses issued that year. Another 499 licenses have been issued in 2025; 2,252 people are currently licensed.
In New York, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator can care for most injured, sick or orphaned wild animals, with the exception of certain ones like moose, bears and white-tailed deer (which require additional licenses). Rehabilitators must pass a state exam at 80% or higher, interview with a state regional wildlife manager and fill out a form…