Spring and early summer is when people commonly come across newborn and young wildlife. If you come across young wildlife, the best thing to do is to allow them to stay wild and, in most cases, leave them alone and don’t interfere.
People often imagine that any young animal they see must be lost or abandoned, but that is usually not the case. An adult animal is usually nearby and is simply waiting on you to move away so the adult can continue to take care of the young.
When people decide to “adopt” young wildlife, it often leads to bad outcomes for that animal.
Those animals will lose their instinctual fear of people and begin to bond with and depend on people to survive. If returned to nature later, these animals will struggle to survive.
And people handling young wild animals could even cause death because of extreme stress.
Here are guidelines on how to deal with young wildlife:
YOUNG BIRDS
If you find a featherless newborn bird with its eyes still shut, it is a nestling and isn’t ready to leave the nest. The best thing to do is simply place the nestling back in the nest. If you cannot locate the nest, leave the nestling where you found it or move it to a shaded or bushy area.
A common myth is that a person’s scent on a young bird will keep the parent birds away. Actually, human scent won’t deter the parents, and they will come back to take care of the bird.
More developed birds are fledglings. They can easily be identified by their more developed feathers. Fledglings don’t need help. The fledgling’s parents are nearby and still caring for them. Be sure to give them plenty of space.
Resident Canada geese are common in many urban areas, and goslings are likely to be encountered in spring and summer. These birds, their nests and eggs are protected by federal and state laws and may not be captured or killed outside of legal hunting seasons without a permit. For more on resident Canada geese, go to wildlifedepartment. com/ hunting/ waterfowl/ managing-geese.
BEAR CUBS
Black bears are most often seen in east-central and southeastern Oklahoma but can occasionally turn up anywhere in the state east of Interstate 35 and in the western Panhandle.
Black bears and their cubs emerge from winter dens in early spring. It is not uncommon for bear cubs to become separated from their mothers for short periods. If you see a bear cub alone, you should leave it alone and leave the area immediately.
Black bears will often send their cubs up trees when they perceive a threat. While the cubs are in the trees, the mother bear will leave and circle back periodically to check on the cubs. The bears will leave when the mother bear feels the area is safe.
FAWNS
In Oklahoma, most fawns are born in May and June. And that’s when more people begin seeing the young deer.
If you find a fawn without a parent nearby, that is normal. To produce milk, the doe must feed, and she will often leave the fawn to do so. The doe will leave the fawn in a safe place, such as near a house or where people can easily see them, because those are places where predators might be less likely to visit.
The doe will also stay away from its fawn so the doe’s scent will not attract predators. Sometimes she will be away from the fawn for many hours.
OTHER YOUNG WILDLIFE
In addition to birds, springtime storms may blow young squirrels out of their nests. Or you might run across a young rabbit in your backyard. Even though they may appear to be alone, distressed or in need of help, the parents are often nearby and will continue to care for them. Leave them alone or move the young animal to a shaded or bushy area and leave.
INJURED WILDLIFE If an animal is injured and truly needs help, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator might be able to help. Click the button below for a list of wildlife rehabilitators by county.
