For many of us, there is something special about winter. Cosy evenings. Crisp mornings. Frost-covered landscapes. Bonfires, fireworks and, before long, the glow of Christmas lights.

But for the wildlife living alongside us, winter can look very different.

The nights are longer. The temperatures are falling. Food is disappearing. And simply surviving each day is becoming harder.

That is why, this winter, we are launching Wildlife Aid's Winter Survival Fund – raising vital funds to help wildlife through the difficult months ahead.

Your support will help us provide warmth to the cold, food to the hungry and urgent medical treatment to the sick and injured – giving every animal that comes through our doors the care they need and the best possible chance of returning to the wild.

Winter changes everything

As autumn disappears and winter takes hold, the natural world changes. Insects vanish. Berries and seeds become harder to find. Frozen ground makes feeding difficult. Water turns to ice.

For wildlife, there is less food available at precisely the time when staying warm demands more energy. Animals that entered winter young, underweight, injured or unwell can quickly find themselves in trouble.

And the weather brings dangers of its own. Heavy rain can flood burrows and destroy nests. Storms can tear apart shelter. Freezing temperatures can prove devastating for an animal already struggling to survive. But the cold is only part of the story.

A dangerous time to be wild

Winter changes the way animals behave, too. With natural resources becoming scarce, wildlife may have to travel further in search of food. Animals compete for territory. Mating seasons bring increased activity and, sometimes, serious fights and injuries.

Some species retreat into hibernation, relying on carefully built energy reserves to carry them through the coldest months. Others remain active throughout the long winter nights. And that's when the world we've built around them can become particularly dangerous.

Dark evenings make roads more hazardous. Bonfires can look like safe places to shelter. Fireworks can cause fear and disturbance. Garden clearance, building work and habitat loss can destroy the places animals rely upon to rest, hide and hibernate.

For wildlife, there is no warm house to retreat to.

No central heating to turn up.

No cupboard full of food when the natural world stops providing.

They simply have to survive.

And if they struggle, that’s why we’re here

Every winter, the consequences arrive through our doors.

A hedgehog too underweight to survive hibernation.

A fox injured on a dark road.

A bird weak from hunger or battered by winter weather.

An animal suffering wounds that need urgent veterinary treatment.

Every patient is different. And we never know what the next phone call will bring.

But we do know that we need to be ready.

Ready to send our rescuers when an animal is in distress.

Ready with warm beds and nutritious food.

Ready with diagnostic equipment, medicines and veterinary expertise.

Ready to perform emergency surgery when an animal's life hangs in the balance.

And ready to provide the days, weeks or sometimes months of rehabilitation needed before they can finally return home.

Help wildlife survive the winter

Our Winter Survival Fund will help provide everything wildlife needs when they come through our doors during the difficult months ahead. Warmth. Food. Medicine. Veterinary treatment. Rescue. Rehabilitation. And the chance to return to the wild where they belong.

Your donation won't just help an animal survive a cold night. It will help Wildlife Aid be here for whatever winter brings.

Please, if you can, make a donation to help wildlife survive this winter. Because while it might be the most wonderful time of the year for us... for them, it can be a fight for survival.