"I
found a baby rabbit. How do I take care of it?"
"There
is a baby bird on the ground. What should I feed it?"
Timid
young rabbits, waddling raccoons and flightless birds tug
at our parental instincts. But in most cases "found" animals
don't need rescuing at all.
Finding
a fawn
A
few years ago, a man walked into the park offices at St. Patrick's
County Park in South Bend. He held a small fawn in his arms.
"I was walking through the field and I found this baby that
has been abandoned by its mother," he said with angst.
It
was hard to disguise our concern. The hiker thought he was
doing the right thing, but in fact, he caused much more harm.
Most
wild animals do not tend to their newborns throughout the
day. Fawns are left by their mother in a quiet place to sleep.
Only at dusk, when she is sure she is not being watched does
she to nurse the camouflaged baby.
Since
this fawn was carted away from its resting place, we tried
to find where the hiker found it. Fawns have no scent, so
they are less likely to attract predators. But that makes
it difficult for a doe to find her fawn if it is not where
she left it.
The
lesson is, if you stumble upon a spotted fawn, let it be.
And that goes for most wild youngsters as well.
Rabbits
mature quickly
One
spring I took a phone call from a teacher who "rescued" three
baby rabbits and was trying to raise them in the classroom.
One had already died. My heart fell as I listened to her story.
"Yes, the rabbits each had a tiny white spot on its head,
and their eyes had just opened," she said.
Like
deer, mother rabbits leave their kits huddled in their "form"
or grassy nest during the day and return under the cover of
darkness to nurse them. Rabbits with a white spot on their
head are most likely still being nursed, and should not be
moved. A rabbit whose eyes are open, capable of perking its
ears, is already on its own and does need to be rescued.
