Have you come across a baby bunny or a fawn? Rest assured, you can help them. Your best option is to leave them where you found them. Below is some information from nature experts of what is best for baby animals. It is rare that a mother deer or rabbit will leave their young abandoned. Please read on to discover what to do if you find a baby animal:
Let Them Be…Wild and Free
Spring is the time of year for baby animals. Often when you are out walking the woods or fields, or even in your own backyard, you may come across a helpless-looking ‘orphan’ animal that can’t possibly survive by itself in the wild.
What should you do? PLEASE, LEAVE THE ANIMAL ALONE. Even though it is not true that if you touch it the baby animal will die or its mother will not return, it is always a good thing to leave wild animals alone and just observe from a distance.
A white-tailed doe will leave her fawn hidden in the tall grass during the day. Very young deer are protected because they have no smell and their spots are camouflage. If you see a fawn, don’t walk up to it because you will leave a scent trail. Baby birds and mammals are probably being watched by a parent nearby. If you see a baby bird without feathers, find the nest and place it back inside. Parents keep track of older birds and feed them several days after they leave the nest. The feathered young cannot fly but they are also not orphans and should be left alone.
Mother rabbits usually visit their young only at night. You will probably never see her near the nest, so don’t think that the baby rabbits are in trouble. If a nest is accidentally disturbed, you can find the young and put them back. Try to keep dogs and cats away and the mother will return.
Wild babies are not often orphaned or abandoned and they are much better off if left in the wild. Many people make pets of wild animals, which is against the law.
We forget how strong they are. These animals can come to depend on people for food and will not survive if they are later returned to the wild.
So, remember, if you find a wild baby animal this spring , just look and let it be…Wild and Free.