By Danielle Ray
Landmark correspondent
JEFFERSON — Seasoned and certified wildlife rehabilitator Krystal Smajkiewicz has an important message to share about the adorable critters she comes in contact with: Wildlife should stay wild.
“I don’t want any confusion. When wild animals are babies, they all appear cute and cuddly, but they are not,” she recently conveyed. “I raise the wild animals in my care, so they have a certain level of trust with me. Before they are released, I make sure they fear humans. By the time release day comes near, they will run and hide from even me.”
Smajkiewicz shares her home with injured creatures and ones who need medical attention, mostly mammals such as raccoons, opossum, squirrels, groundhogs, and chipmunks, through the undertaking she launched after becoming certified in 2017, Krystal’s Wildlife Rehab. She also helps turtles, non-native songbirds, pigeons, turkey, quail and more.
“I lose track through the summer of how many animals I actually have,” she said. “I always surprise myself at the end of the year when it’s time for the paperwork part of it. Gathering up all the intake forms and doing a final count is always shocking. Like pandemic year, at one point I counted over 130 animals I had at one time.”
Like most people, Smajkiewicz said the COVID-19 pandemic “is a time period I’m pretty sure we all would be OK never repeating.”
She saw a huge uptick in the requests for wildlife care in 2020 in particular, as more people were home and spending more time outdoors.
“Everyone’s dog found bunnies; my phone never stopped,” she said. “In a 24-hour period I would average 30 to 40 phone calls. It was just exhausting. That year alone I admitted over 500 animals. I made my bedroom a second rehab space. (It) wasn’t like I was getting any sleep anyways — the bed just took up space.”
Smajkiewicz said that over the last few years she has learned to set boundaries “and that it’s OK to say, ‘No, I’m too full.’ ”
“I had to learn the hard way that emotional and physical exhaustion is no joke,” she admitted. “Working with wildlife is hard. I have built a close circle of other rehab friends who are irreplaceable. Having someone to call who I can ask for advice or is willing to just listen to me cry is amazing. I also have a beautiful family that loves and supports me every step of the way.”
The animal lover grew up in Jefferson and then spent most of her 20s living in a few different places in South and East Africa. After deciding not to pursue veterinarian school, Smajkiewicz yearned for adventure and to help animals in other ways. She landed at Crow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in South Africa after a Google search.
She called and told the folks at Crow Wildlife her story, and she was invited to come to the center to help out. She stayed there for three months and was exposed to a variety of exotic animals, ultimately spending five years in Africa — some of that time doing wildlife rehab, some helping with wildlife management at a resort.
She has lived the majority of her life in Jefferson near her family, and runs Krystal’s Wildlife Rehab out of her home.
“It’s not a business per se. I don’t make money or get paid for what I do, and I don’t charge for animal care,” Smajkiewicz said of her wildlife efforts. “Every penny I spend is out of my pocket or from amazing caring people who send in donations. It gets busy at times. There’s plenty of cookouts and summer events that I skip out on because I have babies to feed, but release day makes every missed pool party worth it.”
She said that as far back as she can remember she has “had a deep love for all animals.” She decided to start rehabbing local wildlife after realizing there was a need.
“We as humans take so much from them and just expect them to deal with it,” she said. “Habitat eradication, poisons, car accidents, pollution and irresponsible hunting and fishing, leaving fishing line around, and use of lead ammunition are just some common factors.”
Smajkiewicz said that while for the most part what she does is appreciated, she has had “more than a handful of run-ins with people who think it’s my job to come remove animals they don’t like, or who threaten to kill an animal if I don’t drop everything and come pick it up.”
“Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s the people who are the difficult ones to deal with. The animal is the easy part.”
That aside, Smajkiewicz said she enjoys helping the critters who come to her, and she shares information and “lots of adorable and educational pics” through her Facebook page (facebook.com/krystalswildlife). She gladly accepts Venmo (@Krystal-Smajkiewicz) or PayPal (@Krystalswildlife) donations to help fund the care for the animals, and appreciates those who support her endeavor.
As for the future, the busy mom of four said, “Who ever really knows?”
“I am so happy doing what I do. I am raising amazing kids with such huge hearts themselves, and I’m so proud that I am a part of building a compassionate future for our wildlife. I will continue to be the best mom I can be and save wildlife while I’m at it.”
