Think Twice Before Moving Baby Animals
Thursday, April 18th, 2019 -- 7:38 AM
(WRN) -Spring is here, and state wildlife rescue centers are getting ready for a rush of orphaned animal calls.Spring is here, and state wildlife rescue centers are getting ready for a rush of orphaned animal calls. Dane County Humane Society spokeswoman Marissa DeGroot says many of these calls can be false alarms, especially when you're talking about prey species like rabbits and deer.
"Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if the baby animals are in need of assistance, if they're truly orphaned, or if maybe mom is just keeping her distance in order to keep her babies safe."
DeGroot says for a lot of species, the parents keep their distance from the nest in order to protect their babies.
"For a lot of animals, the parents might only come and visit the young maybe at dawn and dusk. So you just want to be aware that even with the best of intentions, sometimes you end up almost kidnapping a baby wild animal."
DeGroot says their website has been updated to help you figure out what needs to be done when you find a baby animal by itself.
"We're going to have resources there for you to identify if an animal is in immediate need of help or if it's a situation where you might want to take a step back and observe."
You can find that information online at Give Shelter dot Org.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.