"Lost" Baby Animals

[Catherine]

This time of year we will be seeing baby birds and other baby animals out there alone and seemingly lost. They are not lost. The parents are looking after them. They leave them alone while they gather food. If left alone the babies will be fine.


http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0


That is the important thing to understand about baby animals. We need to leave them alone. That is their best chance of doing well. When we interfere we put the baby at risk. Who can forget the two guys who rescued a baby Bison in Yellowstone National Park last year. They took it away from its mother and its herd. It was not possible to reunite the baby Bison with its mother and so he is dead.
It is tempting to help and we feel we really should help, but our best help is to give the parents room to raise their young. Look, but don't touch.

[Tobi]

Great post Catherine! Thank you.

There will be baby birds out of nests, looking helpless on the ground and calling out to their parents. But it's okay. The parents know exactly where they are and will continue to feed and protect them.

Finding baby deer in long grass all alone is another one. The mothers let them sleep, and go away to graze but always return. They know exactly where they are. I have watched this happening in my back field, and kept a look-out with binoculars. If a human interferes the baby will really be in danger because the mother will reject it.

[Catherine]

Every year people bring home "lost" baby birds and they die as a result. Unless you know what you are doing you won't be feeding the baby right. If you do keep the baby alive, it will not know how to survive as a wild bird. What future is there for a wild baby bird that does not know how to be wild.

Fawns and baby rabbits are left alone by their mothers and people keep interfering. They are not lost. That poor little baby bison was not lost. Left alone their mothers come to them and care for them. This is their way of teaching them to be independent.


Sometimes a baby is in actual danger. If that happens, call for professional help. When the Toronto Wildlife people have to rescue a baby they return it if the can. Swans and geese will take babies back. If they have to raise a baby, they raise it to be wild and only release it when it is ready to survive. Without the proper skills and facilities "helping" is sometimes  killing a baby.
I can only hope that this year the message reaches people and they will leave the babies alone and let their parents care for them as nature intended.