Baby cottontail rabbits are frequent victims of kidnapping. A mother cottontail only visits her young twice a day, once at dawn and once at dusk, so baby rabbits are often mistaken for being orphaned when they’re actually just fine. Like all animals, a baby cottontail rabbit’s best chance of survival is always with its naturalContinue reading “5 Signs a Baby Bunny Needs Help”
Category Archives: Wildlife Emergencies
Found an “Orphan” Turtle?
Please don’t “rescue” baby turtles of any kind unless they’re noticeably injured! There is no such thing as an orphan turtle. Unlike mammals, birds, and a couple of reptiles, turtles do not care for their young at all. A mother turtle lays her eggs and never sees them again. Well-meaning people who “rescue” turtles fromContinue reading “Found an “Orphan” Turtle?”
Five Signs a Fawn Needs Help
It’s baby season, so we’ll be focusing our posts over the next few days on identifying babies that are truly orphaned and in need of help! Some of the most common kidnapping victims are fawns. Their mothers leave them alone for long periods of time, so well-meaning people often mistake them for orphans. It’s usuallyContinue reading “Five Signs a Fawn Needs Help”
Never Feed an Orphaned Wild Animal
People with good intentions accidentally kill a lot of baby animals. Please make sure you don’t contribute to this problem this baby season if you come across a baby animal in need! Orphaned animals are almost always hypothermic and dehydrated after hours or days without their mothers’ care. When they’re in that state, they can’tContinue reading “Never Feed an Orphaned Wild Animal”
Found an Orphaned Animal? Keep it Warm!
If you find a baby animal and are certain that it is truly orphaned— for example, because you actually saw the mother’s body nearby or because the babies are clearly emaciated— the most important thing you can do is keep it warm! Hypothermia— freezing to death— is the most common cause of death in orphanedContinue reading “Found an Orphaned Animal? Keep it Warm!”
That Friendly Animal May Not Be Your Reincarnated Loved One
Ok here’s what I wrote and it will go live tomorrow. Thank you guys! The world works in mysterious ways, and people can find messages hidden in anything. Grief is painful, and it’s only human nature to look for signs that our loved ones are still with us. Sometimes we come across animals in ourContinue reading “That Friendly Animal May Not Be Your Reincarnated Loved One”
Baby Opossums Left Alone Need Help!
Nearly any time you find a baby animal by itself, the correct thing to do is to leave it exactly where you found it. Most animals leave their young for long periods of time while they find food. Rabbits, for example, only feed their young once at dawn and dusk, and deer usually leave theirContinue reading “Baby Opossums Left Alone Need Help!”
Your Cat Can’t Raise Wild Animal Babies
You’ve likely seen— and possibly even shared— those cute viral photos and videos of domestic cats raising wild animals. Stories of cats raising wild animals are always adorable and heartwarming, but the sad truth is that most of these stories are fake, and most attempts to recreate them end in tragedy. Take, for example, theContinue reading “Your Cat Can’t Raise Wild Animal Babies”
“I found a dead bird. Should I save the babies?”
Even the very best rehabilitators can’t care for baby birds as well as the their natural parents, so we always make it a priority to keep baby animals with their families whenever possible. Unfortunately, some baby birds end up in rehabilitation because well-meaning people kidnap them. It’s not uncommon for someone to find a deadContinue reading ““I found a dead bird. Should I save the babies?””
Treating a Wild Animal With Mange Yourself? Not So Fast!
We get tons of messages from people asking us for advice on treating wild animals with mange. It’s wonderful that so many people care! Mange is extremely common in wildlife, particularly foxes and coyotes, and rates have skyrocketed in recent years due to human causes. When left untreated, mange causes infections, starvation, hypothermia, and eventuallyContinue reading “Treating a Wild Animal With Mange Yourself? Not So Fast!”
