One day, while walking in Mizieb, we stumbled across an injured hedgehog. It looked like he had suffered a dog bite and his wound was festering. We called Nature Trust Malta, arranged a meeting place and they came to collect him within the hour. They even let us know how he was doing because we had asked them to. I was touched by the dedication of these volunteers towards giving nature a helping hand - this is my personal experience.

Just like us, wildlife sometimes needs help. And Nature Trust Malta provides it. A dedicated 24-hour-duty team of professionally trained rescuers can be called if you find injured or sick hedgehogs, bats, snakes, turtles, dolphins and other animals. Please save the Wildlife Rescue Team emergency number in your phone: +356 99999505.

The Wildlife Rescue Team is a group of volunteers made up of divers, biologists and marine mammal medics who are available 24/7 to help all local wildlife when required. All volunteers are covered by the necessary permits to handle local protected wildlife.

When arriving on site, the team will assess the situation to determine the course of action. If the animal is not injured but lost, the team will assist the animal back to its habitat after taking photos and measurements as a record. If the animal needs medical attention, the team will phone for a vet and the animal will be rehabilitated at San Lucjan’s Rehab Centre before it is released back into the wild. 

In collaboration with AirMalta, Nature Trust is currently setting up a Wildlife Rehabilitation & Educational Centre worth €1,600,000; contact NTM to make a donation. 

When to call the Nature Trust Rescue Team

• If you find hedgehogs, wild rabbits, weasels, shrews, bats, lizards, chameleons and other small wild animals in distress.
• If you find a snake that has been hunted by cats, injured by rat bites, stuck in glue traps for rats or merely in a place where it does not belong, such as your garage. Snakes are a priority endangered species of Malta.
• If you find dolphins in need of help. Dolphins sometimes get injured by boats, fall ill, lose their family or get stranded.
• If you find turtles that need help. Turtles sometimes get injured by boats, get caught in fishing line and nets, swallow big hooks or swallow plastic bags, which make them very ill. The turtles may die if they do not get medical assistance.
• If you find dead dolphins, turtles or snakes, NTM will identify the animal, ascertain the cause of death and take a record.

Nature Trust Malta Wildlife Rescue Team emergency number: +356 99999505

Nature Trust (Malta) is a non-profit non-governmental environmental organisation working in the Maltese Islands. It is made up of four environmental NGOs that merged in 1999. These four NGOs were the Society for the Study and Conservation of Nature, previously the Natural History Society of Malta (1962), Arbor (1989), Verde (1997) and Marine Life Care Group. In 2017, NTM became the Malta coordinator for the Danish international organisation, Foundation for Environmental Education - FEE Malta. It is also a privileged partner of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).