![]() ![]() Darkness makes the animal feel more secure. Keep the animal in a warm, dark, quiet place. If you can easily handle the wild animal, place the baby in a box with airholes, lined with something soft, like a T-shirt or towel. If You are Unable to Reach a Professional Immediately.You also can contact your local humane society, the Audubon Society, wild bird stores, your local animal control officer, or an aquarium or marine patrol (for marine reptiles and mammals). If not, many clinics, especially emergency clinics, have lists of local rehabilitation facilities and the types of animals they assist. See if your veterinarian is part of a rehabilitation network that can treat wildlife or exotics. In either case, if no bird or squirrel parent returns within several hours of your re-nesting attempt, these animals may need professional help and care to survive. Once the baby calls out, the parent will locate it and re-nest the baby for you. If you find an uninjured baby squirrel with its eyes still closed, place the animal in a container near the base of the tree where you found it. Then watch and see if the parents return to care for their young. You can either replace the original nest if it’s been blown down or make an artificial nest and secure it to a tree near where you found the baby bird. If you find an uninjured bird that is a hatchling (featherless, eyes closed) or nestling (starting to develop feathers, eyes open), they often can be re-nested. Call your local animal control agency, whose professionals can safely capture, test, and sound the alert if an animal is infected with a transmissible disease such as rabies, distemper, mange or even plague. Never try to rescue an animal that is disoriented, having trouble breathing, acting aggressively or covered with visible parasites, and make sure your children and pets stay away, too. ![]() Many rehabilitators have a network of volunteers specially trained to rescue and transport these animals. What about animals higher up in the food chain, like eagles or even young mountain lions? Leave them alone and call in the professionals. Always wear gloves or other protective clothing when handling any wild animal to minimize your risk of being bitten or scratched. Rehabilitators can provide you with instructions on how to rescue and transport different species of baby animals. Consult your veterinarian or contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility near you if you think an animal is in crisis. In contrast, if you see an animal with poor body condition, visible wounds, bleeding, vomiting or shaking, these animals need help. If wildlife babies have good body condition, seem well fed and growing, leave them alone. It’s normal to find fully feathered songbird babies on the ground and parents caring for them for several days until these young birds master flying. A doe only visits and nurses their fawn a few times each day to avoid attracting predators. Mother rabbits only feed their kits once or twice per day, usually around dawn and dusk. A little knowledge goes a long way in helping you decide what to do - and what not to do - when you come across a baby animal in the wild. Also, know who to contact in those rare instances that human intervention is necessary. One way to help recognize a true wild animal emergency is to learn about the species that live in your backyard and in the wilderness spaces near you. There’s a saying in the wildlife rehabilitation world – if you care, leave it there. Intervening when help is not needed is harmful to wildlife, especially young ones. It’s just the parenting style adapted by these species to keep their young safe. It’s not unusual for a raccoon mom to leave her babies sleeping up in a tree for the day or a doe to leave her young alone and hidden for long stretches of time. ![]() However, parenting is a bit different in the wild, and you’ll want to know what that means when you come upon a seemingly lost or abandoned baby animal. Nests are built, dens dug and burrows lined with soft material in preparation. Updated April 13, 2023 – With spring bursting around us, animals of all shapes and sizes are preparing for the arrival of little ones. ![]()
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