AUBURN, Maine — When it comes to wild animals in Maine, Dan Foss has practically seen it all.
"It’s been an amazing adventure. Every day I go out I have no idea what I’m going to be dealing with," he said. "I could be dealing with a chipmunk one minute and a bald eagle the next."
Foss, who’s retired from a 35-year career in public safety, started the nonprofit Maine Wildlife Transport in 2021.
"I thought there had to be a better way of doing things here in Maine as far as transporting animals," he explained.
The organization assists the state of Maine in rescuing, stabilizing, and transporting ill, injured, or orphaned wildlife to licensed rehabilitation centers across the state. One of those centers is Misfits Rehab in Auburn, which cares for animals with the hope of giving them a second chance in the wild.
"With Dan being able to go out into the field, grab the animal, transport it from wherever—from Gorham, from Augusta, from wherever it needs to come from—he will transport it safely," Misfits Rehab owner Jen Marchigiani explained. "He has the responsibility, he has the training, and he knows what to do to get it to us as soon as possible. It takes out the risk factor for the public."
The most common animals Foss brings to Misfits are squirrels and bats. But Marchigiani said she also treats a lot of raccoons, opossums, and porcupines.
Foss never knows what each day will bring. For example, this summer, he rescued a barred owl out of a residential chimney. The owl got stuck after thinking the chimney was a place to nest. Check out the video here.
"The best part is being able to release it back into the wild after it’s been treated for whatever injuries or disease it has," Foss explained. "That’s the best part of the job: knowing that that animal went from being sick or injured to living a productive life back in the wild.”
Foss is currently a one-man band with a high-mileage van. That’s because Maine Wildlife Transport covers the whole state, primarily assisting six Maine Warden Service wildlife conflict agents (WCAs) who cover everywhere from Bangor south.
These WCAs provide a similar service to Foss. The biggest difference is that they are paid by the state to do it.
"Dan’s service as a wildlife transport service has been extremely helpful for the WCA program," Bobbie-Jo Wallace, a wildlife conflict agent, told NEWS CENTER Maine. "Because, like I said, there’s only six of us from Bangor, south. So, especially in the southernmost division, there’s only two of us on during the day and we cover a very large geographical area."
"Sometimes I could be down in Kittery and get a call for something in the Brunswick area," she added. "I can’t respond there in a timely fashion, so reaching out to Dan is a great help.”
Foss was searching for purpose after retiring from a career in law enforcement, firefighting, EMS, and emergency management. Finally, he found his calling.
"I knew I was going to be serving the public again. So it kind of gave me a sense of purpose again," he said. "I was kind of lost before. I retired; I didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to do; I was still young. So, it kind of worked out both ways to help the state out and help myself out."
Foss estimates he’ll reach about 1,500 to 1,600 calls this year. Calls don’t always result in him intervening; oftentimes it’s an opportunity for Mainers to learn from him.
"I think every interaction I have with somebody, there’s some type of component of educating them on what is going on with the animal or what possibly could be going on with the animal," he explained. "What is normal for this animal and so on and so forth. So, there’s always some type of education built into it."
Foss is hoping Mainers will help him out, too. If you love animals and you have some free time, he's looking for volunteers to help drive animals from rescue scenes to rehab centers.
He’s also fundraising for a new van, which he says he needs badly, to keep providing this service. Click here to donate.
In addition to its Facebook and website, Maine Wildlife Transport can be contacted by email at mainewildlifetransport@gmail.com and by phone at 888-411-9490.
To contact the Maine Warden Service about a wild animal, call 1-800-452-4664.
