Wildlife Guidelines
Some of the young animals you might encounter may be in need of human care due to injury or parental loss. However most are neither orphaned nor injured. The following guidelines should help you determine if a wild animal needs help.
If you have found an injured, orphaned, or sick animal, scroll down the following list to find out what to do.
DEER
Mothers leave their young hidden in the grass for several hours at a time while they browse for food. The fawns stay curled up and very still wherever mom has left them and since they have no body odor they are not easily detected by predators. A fawn may be orphaned if: it has been in the same spot for over 12 hours, it looks weak/ill, the grass under it is yellow, or flies are buzzing around it.
OPOSSUMS
Because opossums are marsupials they do not build nests but carry their young in their pouch. When they are about 65 days old the babies climb on their mother's back and travel with her. If the young fall off mom, they are left behind. Opossums become independent when they are about 10" long (not counting the tail). If an opossum is found in a structure during the daytime such as a garage, leave the door open the evening and the animal will leave. Close the door behind it.
SQUIRRELS
Squirrels have two nests. If one is destroyed, the mother usually moves her youngsters to the other. If you find a baby with its eyes closed, place it in a box under the tree from which it came. If the mother doesn't retrieve it in 2 - 3 hours, take the baby in and contact us a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance. Of course, if the weather is cold, the waiting time should be shortened, or canceled.
RABBITS
Mother rabbits feed their young only twice daily, at dawn and dusk. They are very secretive so people are unlikely to see them when they visit their nests. Baby rabbits leave the nest when they are the size of a man's fist and are fully able to care tor themselves. When wild rabbits are handled unnecessarily or kept in captivity, they usually die.
BATS
Bats are nocturnal creatures and they do not fly into people's hair. If a bat is inside the house, it can be contained in the room in which it is in by closing the door. In the evening a window should be left open and the lights dimmed to induce the bat to leave through the open window.
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THERE'S AN ADULT BIRD OUTSIDE AND IT CAN'T FLY
Any adult bird which doesn't fly away from approaching humans is usually in need of assistance. After capturing it, put it in a box, place the box in a dark, quiet, warm spot and call a wildlife rehabilitator. Do not try to feed it or give it water. CAUTION: in spring and summer, be sure the bird is truly a disabled adult rather than a fledgling that doesn't fly well yet.
BABY BIRDS: TO TOUCH OR NOT TO TOUCH
Usually babies fall right under their nests. If the bird is lying under a tree or shrub try to locate its nest, probably straight above. If the baby bird is naked or has pinfeathers and cannot move around freely, put it back in the nest. It's not true that if a human touches it, its mother will desert or destroy it. If the nest has fallen on the ground, secure it in the tree or shrub. If it is destroyed, make a new one out of a margarine tub by poking a couple of holes on the bottom for rain drainage, tying three or four strings around the rim and securing it close to the original nest site. If part of the original nest is available, line the new one with it before placing the babies in it. If the parent doesn't return immediately, don't despair; it can take a couple of hours.
FLEDGLINGS
If the baby bird is well-feathered and hopping around, leave it alone; it is a fledgling. At that age the young bird is supposed to hop around in the bushes or under them and exercise its wings. A parent is probably close by. If the youngster is in the street, herd it back to the nearest bush.
BIRD OF PREY RESCUE
Birds of Prey can be very dangerous, and require training and special insruction on how to safely handle the animal. Please contact a wildlife rehabilitator, or call your local Animal Control for assistance with these animals.
WATER BIRD RESCUE
Water rescues are very dangerous. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance.
SOMETHING'S LIVING IN MY CHIMNEY
Raccoons and chimney swifts (birds) use chimneys for nesting. Raccoons use the site for approximately 8 weeks at which time the mother leads her young outside to begin teaching them survival skills.
Swifts are great insect eaters so many people welcome them in their chimneys. Young swifts stay in their nests (flimsy stick and saliva affairs) about 4 weeks after which they join the adults in the air. Sometimes the nests (not fire hazards) which are attached to the chimney wall, fall down. The babies are very capable of climbing back up the wall and the parents continue to care for them. As long as the damper is fully closed one should never come in contact with their chinmey swifts. These birds migrate south in late September.
