Spring is here, which means fields, parks, woods and even backyards are prime spots to stumble upon assorted baby animals in their natural habitats. And as more people are venturing out into nature to escape their quarantine confines, chances are you may see a little wild and fuzzy tot without parental supervision.
While it is our immediate instinct to want to intervene and protect what appears to be a defenseless baby, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has some tips on its website for what to do if you think you have found an orphaned animal.
First things first, many wild animals are only raised by one parent, who will leave them alone to go procure food or avoid interacting with them to hide them from predators.
“Unless something seems amiss, keep your distance and leave them alone. Human intervention is always a wild animal’s LAST hope for survival, NEVER its best hope,” says the ODNR.
And, common sense comment: If an animal is obviously injured or you know for a fact that its parent(s) are dead, consult your nearest Wildlife District Office or local wildlife rehabilitator for help. You can’t keep a wild animal as a pet, even if you really, really want to.
Let’s take a look at some specific animals, shall we?
White-tailed deer
Deer have their babies in May, June or July and will leave them in hiding places — including backyards or even flower beds — to protect them from predators. Fawns apparently have little to no smell, so they are hard to find if something wants to eat them. Moms will return several times a day to nurse.
If you see a fawn by itself and it seems healthy, leave it alone and don’t keep checking on it because it will prevent the mom from returning. If the fawn is in an unsafe location, you are allowed to move it to a safer location. The ODNR says, “Although you should limit touching the animal, it is a myth that the doe will reject a fawn with human scent on it. When moving a fawn, the young deer may try to follow you as you leave. To prevent the fawn from following you, face it away from the direction in which you plan to leave so it cannot watch you. Tap the fawn once or twice firmly between the shoulder blades (this mimics how the mother taps the fawn with her nose to communicate ‘stay here and wait until I come back’). Quickly leave the area. Do not linger. The baby may move around somewhat. Keep going and it should lie back down. If possible, you can monitor from afar with binoculars.”
Even if it follows you, you cannot keep a fawn as a pet.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if:
- You find a fawn next to a doe that has been struck by a car
- You find a fawn that is weak, injured or covered in parasites
- You find a fawn that is bleating unceasingly for several hours and the mom has not returned within 24 hours
Raccoons
Raccoons have litters of three to seven kits and the babies usually stay with mom through the fall or winter. Though they are nocturnal, moms may leave during the day in spring and summer to forage for food. If you see a baby raccoon away from its den, keep an eye on it and see if it goes back home or if its mom picks it up.
If it has been a few hours or the baby is in immediate danger if you leave it as is, the ODNR says you can “put an upside-down laundry basket over the kit with a towel or heated sock filled with dry rice to keep it warm” or “put the kit in a cardboard box with a towel or heated sock filled with dry rice to keep it warm and tape the top of the box closed with newspaper.” The mom raccoon will rip through the newspaper and overturn the laundry basket to get to the baby.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if:
- Your dog brought the raccoon kit home and you don’t know where it came from
- A predator got into the nest and the kit has been left behind for more than a day
- The kit is far from its den and seems to be cold, sick, wet, covered in parasites or injured and still has its eyes closed
Rabbits
Rabbits have babies pretty much constantly, but most litters are born in April and May. You can find rabbit nests in yards, flower beds, playgrounds — anywhere with soil. Baby rabbits, or kits, are born furless, with their closed eyes and ears that lay down on the back of their heads. Their moms leave them alone in their nest, except for at feeding times (dawn or dusk), to avoid arousing the suspicion of predators. Bunny babies leave their moms when they are about three weeks old. Basically, leave a kit alone if it seems healthy. If you see a nest has been disturbed, quickly rebuild it, replace the young and cover the nest up.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if:
- The kit appears to be far from its den and seems sick and injured or still has its eyes closed
- A predator got into the nest and the kit has been left behind for more than a day
- Your pet brought the kit home and you don’t know where the nest is
- If the mother rabbit hasn’t returned in more than a day and you don’t know if she’s dead or not. The ODNR says, “Test this by placing grass in a tic-tack-toe pattern over the nest and leaving it overnight (do not use string or yarn). If pattern is not disturbed and is exactly as you left it the next morning, contact a rehabilitator.”
Baby birds
Finding a baby bird on the ground is a pretty common experience.
If it does not have feathers, it was either pushed out or blown out of its nest. The ODNR says, “It’s important at this stage that they be put back in the nest as quickly as possible. Locate the nest, gently pick up the baby bird and put them back, if you can do so safely. Do not worry about your scent scaring off the parent birds. Most birds have little to no sense of smell so it doesn’t matter that you’ve touched the baby bird. If you cannot reach the nest, and you can see the mother bird is still around, try to place the baby into a makeshift nest such as in a basket with some nesting materials, and possibly nail or attach the basket to tree, off of the ground.”
If it does have feathers, it is probably a fledgling and left the nest on purpose — even though they look like they suck at flying and hop around like clumsy idiots. The ODNR says, “Their parents will often continue to bring them food at this stage as well, although you might not always see that happening.” If you feel like a cat or something else might grab the little dude, you can pick him up and stick him in a tree or bush and then quickly leave.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if:
- You feel very strongly that the bird is injured
Squirrels
Squirrels have litters in February and March and July and August with two to three babies in each. They live in little leaf nests or dens, sometimes bird houses, and are slow maturing. They may stay with mom for up to nine months and mother squirrels are very loyal and protective of their young. And just because a squirrel is small doesn’t mean it’s a baby. If a squirrel has a fluffy tail and is longer than 6 inches, he’s probably OK on his own.
So if you spot a baby squirrel (small, kind of naked) on the ground, who seems like it fell from a tree, check it for injuries. If it seems uninjured, leave it where it is — mama will likely grab it and bring it back to the nest soon. If she doesn’t immediately return to pick up her baby, you can place the squirrel in an open box at the base of the tree with an ambient source of heat: an old sock filled with warm, microwaved dry rice; a zip-locked, leak-proof bag filled with warm water, sealed in another zip-lock bag; an empty cola bottle filled with warm water and wrapped in cloth or a shirt; or a hot water bottle wrapped in a cloth or shirt.
If you find a squirrel on the ground and there isn’t a tree around, check for any nearby trees, gutters or areas of your house that might have a leaf nest or cavity to try to help reunite mama and baby in the same ways as described above.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if:
- Mama hasn’t been back after a day. If that happens you can bring the baby squirrel inside after dark in a covered box and call
- The baby seems to be sick, weak, injured, covered in parasites, etc. and still has its eyes closed
- If you know the mama squirrel is dead or hasn’t returned to her nest in more than a day
- If your pet brought it home
This article appears in Apr 15 – May 5, 2020.