Texas heat taking toll on native wildlife. Here’s how you can help animals in your neighborhood stay safe

HOUSTON – The Houston SPCA Wildlife Center of Texas said it’s treating more emaciated wild animals for dehydration in Texas’ scorching temperatures.

The center said Monday that it has seen a 20% increase in the number of ill, injured or orphaned animals from this time in 2022.

‘We’ve just been getting a lot more wildlife that is super dehydrated and emaciated,” Kara DeShazo with Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center of Texas said. “They’re so dehydrated their energy levels are low. They’re not hunting or foraging, so we’re also making sure they’re fed.

Among the impacted animals that SPCA treated on Friday, June 16 were a loon, woodpecker, yellow-crowned night - heron and a mockingbird.

The animals have since been treated and will be released once they have fully recovered.

With the temperatures reaching the triple digits, here are some ways you can help the wildlife in your neighborhood:

• At least once a day, remove dirt and debris from birdbaths and fill them with fresh clean water.
• Put out extra birdseed or suet in your yard.
• Check under trees in your neighborhood for distressed wildlife that may have fallen. If it’s safe to do so, place them in a box with soft rags and get them to the Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center of Texas Center as soon as possible.