The Bi-State Wildlife Hotline is a non-profit organization in St. Louis, Missouri that answers questions about troubled or troubling wildlife for area residents, an article in the St. Louis Beacon reports. The hotline, answered by trained wildlife rehabilitators, aims to cut admissions to wildlife rehab centers in half by being available to quickly answer questions about what to do about squirrels in the attic, baby birds that have fallen out of the nest or a coyote chasing the family cat, the article says.

State wildlife agencies often lack the funding to answer these types of questions, the article notes.

Similar hotlines exist elsewhere, all operated by groups of wildlife rehabilitators, notably in Marin County (a suburb of San Francisco), Rhode Island, northern Virginia, and Westchester County (a suburb of New York City).

The Bi-State Wildlife Hotline serves Missouri and Illinois.

It’s amazing how information can prevent small problems from turning into bigger ones. Can a wildlife hotline solve any of your state’s problems?