So far, the wildlife rescue station has received more patients than last year
Chickadee birds. Photo: LHMP
In the first half of this year, 2,560 animal patients were newly accepted for treatment at the Prague rescue station for wild animals, add more. About half of them were independent cubs. Petra Fišerová, spokeswoman for the city organization Lesy hlavníme města Prague (LHMP), informed about it. The Prague organization operates a rescue station in Prague’s Jinonice. In the first half of 2021, the number of captured animals was about a fifth lower than this year.
“This year’s animal patients included, for example, 365 wild ducks, 255 wood pigeons, 156 hedgehogs, 67 squirrels, 122 hares or 46 swans. A large part of this year’s patients are already back in nature, but even so, we are still quite full at the station. “Right now, 995 animals are being treated or recuperating here, most of which are young due to the season,” said Fišerová.
Furthermore, this year they have already taken care of titmice, magpies, blackbirds, robins or even kestrels at the station. This year’s rarest patients included, for example, the peregrine falcon, the spotted snake, the common dormouse, the woodcock, the harrier, the bat or even the jackdaw.
Animals come to the station for various reasons. It happens that someone, either intentionally or by mistake, destroys their nest, that they are attacked by a predator, or that they lose their parents, who die, for example, when hitting a glass surface, in the clutches of a cat, under the wheels of a car or as a result of other accidents. Hot weather can also be to blame, a strong storm and wind can also cause complications.
A number of animals need care after hitting an obstacle, after a collision with a car or a train, after being injured by equipment or after being attacked by another animal.
The most patients were admitted in May and June, an average of thirty per day. In the first seven months of this year, roughly a thousand animals were returned to the wild. Less than a thousand animals are currently being treated in Jinonice, Fišerová informed.
The station in Prague’s Jinonice has been operating since 2012. According to representatives of the LHMP, the current capacity of the station is no longer sufficient and the plan is therefore to build a new area with twice the capacity.
Thanks to this, it will be possible to receive up to 10,000 injured wild animals for treatment each year. According to an earlier statement by representatives of the Prague municipality, the construction of the new station for around 200 million crowns should start this year and should end in around two years.