Warm weather has arrived and so has Marin's baby wildlife, including deer, rabbits, skunks and raccoons. It's also the time of year when compassionate, well-intentioned individuals, thinking that they are protecting abandoned animals, mistakenly kidnap wild babies from their mothers.
Spotting a baby animal left alone doesn't necessarily mean the youngster is an orphan, and "rescuing" the creature may do more harm than good. The challenge for Marin residents is to balance our natural instinct to want to help baby animals with a true understanding of their needs. Here are some guidelines to follow if you encounter young or newborn wildlife.
- Unless there are obvious signs of distress, do not touch or approach newborn wildlife. Always keep your pets away from the general vicinity. If you have to talk near the animal, talk quietly to avoid causing them stress.
- Young animals can appear to be abandoned when they're not, so the best way to make sure an animal is truly orphaned is to wait and monitor the animal quietly and from afar for 24 hours. If it doesn't move for more than 24 hours and you are concerned, call the Marin Humane Society. An officer will come and take a look before making any kind of decision to move the animal.
- Young animals who are in immediate danger, like being in the middle of a roadway, should be carefully moved to the side of the road in a safe spot, but not too far from where you found them. A new location could disrupt the mother's ability to come back and locate her baby by scent or vocalization.
-Keep in mind that the parents of infants are usually nearby and conscious of their young. For example, baby birds found on the ground may actually be learning how to fly,while a fawn's mom may leave her young for a full day as she gathers food.
- They may be small in size, but young wildlife are much more adapted for survival than human babies and, in most cases, are actually independent enough to fend for themselves. Despite our best attempts, it's impossible for humans to provide a baby animal with better care and survival training than the natural mother, so it's always best to wait and see if the mother is actually around.
- Never try to raise orphaned wildlife on your own. Not only is this illegal, but you can endanger yourself and the animal you are trying to help. Wildlife can sometimes transmit parasites and disease. And, human efforts can be stressful or fatal to an orphan.
Sometimes the best way to care is to leave them there. For wildlife emergencies, contact the Marin Humane Society at 883-4621 or WildCare at 456-SAVE.
