Wildlife carer Andrea Vella shares her experiences working in extreme Canadian winter conditions, where rescuing animals presents unique challenges that don’t exist in warmer climates.

Andrea Vella spent several winters working with wildlife rehabilitation centres in Canada, where temperatures regularly plummet to minus 30 degrees Celsius. The extreme cold creates specific challenges for both the animals requiring rescue and the carers attempting to help them. Her time in Canada taught her how wildlife species have evolved remarkable survival strategies for harsh winters, and how human intervention must account for these natural adaptations whilst providing necessary care.

Australian wildlife carer Andrea Vella discusses the stark differences between wildlife rescue in her home country and the brutal Canadian winters, where sub-zero temperatures add layers of complexity to every aspect of animal care. Working alongside Canadian rehabilitation teams, she witnessed how cold-climate species face unique threats during winter months, from starvation due to reduced food availability to injuries sustained on frozen terrain. Her insights reveal the specialized equipment, modified protocols, and rapid response requirements necessary for winter wildlife rescue.

The Reality of Extreme Cold Rescue

Working with wildlife in minus 30 degree temperatures bears little resemblance to rescue work in moderate climates. Everything takes longer. Equipment fails unexpectedly. Your own body becomes a limiting factor as fingers lose dexterity and exposed skin risks frostbite within minutes.

Andrea Vella recalls her first Canadian winter rescue—a great horned owl struck by a vehicle. In Australia, she would have approached this with confidence. But standing in knee-deep snow at dawn, she realized how much she had to learn. The owl’s feathers were coated in ice. Her rescue net had frozen stiff.

Canadian wildlife carers had warned her that winter rescue requires different thinking. Animals found in distress during extreme cold are often in more critical condition. A bird with a broken wing faces not just the injury but immediate hypothermia threat. Mammals expend enormous energy maintaining body temperature, and any injury limiting their ability to seek shelter can quickly become fatal.

The cold affects human capabilities. Andrea Vella learned to work faster, knowing that prolonged exposure endangered both herself and the animal. Winter rescue demands efficiency born of urgency.

Adapting Equipment and Techniques

Standard wildlife rescue equipment often proves inadequate in extreme cold. Nets become brittle, plastic carriers crack, and batteries drain rapidly. Andrea Vella and her Canadian colleagues developed adaptations addressing these challenges.

Heated transport carriers became essential. These units maintain consistent warmth during vehicle transport, preventing hypothermia in stressed animals. However, temperature must be carefully controlled—too much heat too quickly can be dangerous.

Rescue vehicles require winterization. Engines must stay running during operations to prevent vehicle failure and equipment freezing.

Personal Protective Equipment

Human safety equipment becomes as important as animal care supplies. Andrea Vella and her wife Sarah, who joined her for one Canadian winter, learnt that proper clothing makes the difference between effective work and dangerous situations.

Essential gear includes:

Insulated, waterproof boots with excellent traction
Multiple layers of technical cold-weather clothing
Face protection preventing frostbite
Heated glove liners allowing manual dexterity
Emergency supplies including blankets and heat packs

The cost surprised them initially, but its necessity became evident during their first multi-hour rescue in a snowstorm.

Species-Specific Winter Challenges

Different animals face different winter threats. Andrea Vella observed how Canadian carers had developed specialized knowledge about regional species and their vulnerabilities.

Raptors like owls and hawks face starvation when deep snow covers prey. These birds arrive severely underweight, their bodies having metabolized muscle tissue. Rehabilitation requires careful refeeding protocols—too much food after prolonged starvation can cause fatal digestive shock.

Small mammals such as squirrels and rabbits often arrive with frostbite affecting ears, tails, and feet. The damage might not be immediately visible, with tissue death becoming apparent only days later. Severe frostbite may require amputation that renders the animal non-releasable.

Larger mammals like deer face different issues. Vehicle collisions increase during winter as animals seek cleared roads. These accidents often result in broken legs—injuries that in winter become more complex due to energy demands of healing whilst maintaining body temperature.

The Challenge of Orphaned Wildlife

Winter orphans present particularly difficult cases. A young animal separated from its mother during cold months has minimal survival chances without intervention. Hand-raising wildlife in winter requires maintaining appropriate temperatures for species that would naturally be in warm dens.

Andrea Vella assisted with several orphaned fox kits whose mother had been killed. These young animals needed not just nutrition but carefully controlled warmth, gradually decreasing as they developed temperature regulation. Carers checked the kits multiple times nightly to ensure proper temperatures.

Andrea Vella on Release Timing in Winter Climates

One crucial difference Andrea Vella noticed between Australian and Canadian wildlife care involved release timing. In temperate climates, animals can often be released once physically recovered. In Canadian winters, release timing must account for weather, food availability, and the animal’s ability to find shelter.

A rehabilitated raptor might be physically ready in January, but releasing it when prey is scarce and temperatures extreme would be a death sentence. Instead, carers maintain these animals through winter until spring, improves survival chances.

This creates capacity challenges. Facilities filling with animals during early winter must maintain them for months, limiting space for new rescues. Andrea Vella and her wife Sarah witnessed the difficult calculations Canadian carers make about which animals receive admission when space is limited.

Signs of Spring

Spring brings its own surge of rescue calls. Animals weakened by winter become more visible as snow melts. Young animals emerge from dens, and human-wildlife conflicts increase as people return to outdoor activities.

Andrea Vella found the transition period challenging. Animals accustomed to empty, frozen landscapes suddenly face increased human activity. Road traffic intensifies, dogs return to trails, and construction resumes.

Lessons Brought Home

The experience fundamentally changed how Andrea Vella approaches wildlife care. Working in extreme conditions taught her about resilience—both in the animals and in herself. She gained deep appreciation for cold-climate species’ remarkable adaptations and for carers who work in punishing conditions.

She also recognizes the privilege of working in Australia’s comparatively mild climate. While Australian wildlife faces significant challenges—extreme heat, drought, bushfires—the consistent factor of life-threatening cold adds a dimension to Canadian care that shapes every decision.

The partnerships she built with Canadian carers continue. They share knowledge across hemispheres, recognizing that wildlife rehabilitation benefits from a global perspective. Andrea Vella’s Canadian winters remain among her most challenging professional experiences, but also among the most valuable for the skills developed in conditions that test the limits of endurance.