Megan's Nature Nook
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Spring time means baby time in the animal world. People love animals so much that they try to do whatever they can to help wildlife, but unfortunately this time of year, we humans often do more harm than help. Here are a few tips for what to do if you find an animal you think is sick, injured, or orphaned.
Deer Fawn Fawns (baby deer) are born with no scent to help protect them from predators. The mother deer leaves the fawn for extended periods of time during the day, only coming in the early morning and evening to feed the fawn. Because of this the fawn can seem abandoned or orphaned, but in reality, they are perfectly fine. If you find a fawn do not touch or move it! The oils from your skin will leave your scent on the fawn, which could cause the mother to abandon it. If you are concerned that a fawn has been orphaned, watch it for a few hours (in the morning and evening) from a distance to see if the mother comes to feed it. It is best to watch from indoors because if you are too close and the mother sees you, she may not come back until you are gone. Bird Chicks Baby birds are often found when they’ve fallen out of their nests or if their nest has fallen after a windy day or storm. If you find a chick and are able to locate and reach the nest, you can place the chick back into the nest. Wear a pair of gloves like gardening gloves while doing this. If you cannot locate or reach the nest, you can place the chick in a small box or container (like a cool whip container) with a paper towel or piece of cloth in the bottom to prevent the bird from slipping. Place the container in a nearby tree or anywhere up off the ground and out of reach from any children or pets. When the chick calls for food the parents will be able to find it. You can do the same if you have found a nest that fell out of a tree. When chicks are just learning to fly and leave the nest they are fully feathered but still working on their flight skills. They can tire easily so are often seen fluttering close to the ground but not able to get much height which makes them appear injured. The parents are nearby watching and will still care and feed their young. If you see a bird that appears to not be able to fly, monitor it for a few hours to see if the parents come to it. Keeps pets indoors or on a leash to keep the young birds safe. Squirrels Squirrel babies can be cared for in a similar manner to bird chicks. If you find one that has fallen out of the nest, use gardening gloves to place it back in the nest. If you cannot reach or locate the nest, you can place it in a small box or container lined with paper towels or cloth and place it in a nearby tree or at least up and off the ground out of reach of pets and children, but in a place where the parents can get to it. The parents will be able to locate the babies by listening for their cries when they get hungry. If a whole nest is displaced, place the babies in a box or container and place in a nearby tree, again, the parents will be able to find them. Rabbits Rabbits don’t have much of a nest, but instead have a shallow depression in the ground that may have leaves or grass in it. Mother rabbits leave their nests unattended for long periods of time and only come to feed the babies in the early morning and evenings. If you think the babies are orphaned, monitor the nest for a few hours in the morning and evening to see if the mother is coming. If you are unable to watch the nest, you can lay twigs overtop in a tic-tac-toe pattern, or make a circle of flour around the nest. When the mother comes she will move the twigs or disturb the flour making it easy to tell if she had been there or not. Rabbits are able to survive on their own at a young age when they are still very small. If the baby is up and moving around, it is old enough to be on its own. Raccoons Raccoons are usually suspected of being orphaned when they are at the weanling stage. When they are about the size of a football, the mother starts to wean them off of milk. She will often times leaves them alone and they are seen wandering around (during the daytime, too) looking for her to beg for milk. They will usually be screaming or whining. If they are about a foot long, or the size of a football, they are old enough to be on their own. If you come across and animals who you think is in need, first take the time to assess the situation to see if human intervention is needed. We do not give animals the credit they deserve, they are much better at raising their young than we think. If you have a situation that you are unsure about, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation BEFORE doing ANYTHING. Touching, offering water, or feeding an animal can be detrimental to its health and life. In many cases people are just trying to help an animal they think is sick, injured, or orphaned that really does not need help. By them stepping in they could cause the animal to become sick or injured and even rejected by its mother. There are times when rehabilitation is needed, but a majority of the time humans are just causing the problems. Please think through a situation before rushing in to be the hero. Don’t be a baby-napper! When I was in college I spent a summer working at the Northwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Minocqua, Wisconsin. I worked on both the rehabilitation and education side of the facility. They do a great job caring for all of the animals they get in and are able to release a great deal of them back into the wild. Spring and summer were their busiest seasons because of all the babies. It was hard to see all the critters that were baby-napped and miss cared for because people just didn’t know any better. If you want to help wildlife, leave it alone. The animals know what to do. Working at Northwoods was a very good experience for me because I got to learn hands on about the wildlife that lives in our own backyards. It was a very time consuming and labor-intensive internship, but also very rewarding. I was able to experience firsthand how much work it takes to care for a baby wild animal. Did you know some very young birds have to be fed every half an hour from 6 am – 8 pm, and again at 3 am? Or that baby raccoons have to be bottle fed 4 times a day? It was very eye opening to see all the work and energy that went into caring for all the animals that were brought in and to see the variety of reasons for admittance into the rehabilitation center. So this year, do your part to help the wildlife in your neck of the woods and help educate others by passing this information on!
Northwoods Wildlife Center has a great resource page about what to do if you find an animal that may need help: https://northwoodswildlifecenter.org/i-found-an-animal/ MN Licensed Rehab Facilities Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota - Roseville, MN 651-486-9453 https://wrcmn.org/ Wildwoods – Duluth, MN 218-491-3604 https://wildwoodsrehab.org/ Wild & Free - Garrison, MN 320-692-4180 http://wildandfree.org/contact-us/ The Raptor Center – St. Paul, MN 612-624-4745 https://www.raptor.umn.edu/
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