HOME ABOUT WHAT WE DO AGENDA JOIN GET HELP CONTACT

Three of the five founding trustees are New York State licensed wildlife rehabilitators. We have a commitment as such to actively work to help wild animals in distress. To find out what the licensing agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation, understands that to be, click here to open the relevant webpage on their site. "Wildlife" is spoken in several senses. In large parts of New York, the term points to a wide range of animals — deer and racoons, beaver and tortoises, bats and snakes. Avian wildlife includes both native year-'round species and migratory species — the latter subject to both state and federal regulation. Here in lower Manhattan, we have many of those animals, but the most common wildlife are pigeons and squirrels, sparrows and starlings, raptors and racoons, even sometimes a beaver or a turkey. These common neighborhood critters make up a large part of the wildlife we see and with which we interact. One reason for this: These animals are survivors; they have adapted to living with us — and continually readapt as we change the rules. What does that mean? Click here to see Alex's story, a short video about one recent rescue-and-rehabilitation. [This video is in RealPlayer format; you can get a free RealPlayer by clicking here.] We get involved: [links open a new window or tab] We rescued a BPC duck. We write letters. Some of us are formally committed. Others just do it. Some of us just enjoy a quiet time with the pigeons — or squirrels. There is something very relaxing about sitting with a group of little animals. It is something shared across generational boundaries; children and grandparents can both enjoy this. WiT is for all the people who enjoy sharing our city and our neighborhood this way — and who want to stand up and be counted in support of it's continuing. We aim at being inclusive, accommodating all the different cognate views that together form a consensus that favors such sharing.