– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension
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For many livestock and wildlife springtime is the ideal time for new life to be born. The abundance of spring babies in pastures and woodlands often causes concerns about potentially abandoned wildlife. Each year the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW) reminds Ohioans to avoid removing young wildlife from their natural habitats. Advice from ODW is that human intervention is the last hope for wildlife survival and never its best hope.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) provides the following statements in regard to perceived orphaned and/or injured wildlife.
“Wildlife parents are very devoted to their young and rarely abandon them. Many species are raised by only one parent (the mother) and she cannot be in two places at once. This means that baby wildlife must be left alone several times during the day or even the majority of the time while the mother ventures off to find food for herself and her young.
The best thing to do is to keep your distance and keep children and pets away from the young animal. This is to protect both humans and wildlife. Wild animals can carry parasites or diseases that can be harmful to humans and pets. Wild animals also defend themselves by scratching or biting.”
Ohioans can learn more about how to determine if wildlife need intervention from humans or if they should be left alone by viewing a webinar from ODNR & ODW presented by Jamey Emmert: https://youtu.be/wn39dDpEHfo
Newborn fawns are often thought to be abandoned and moved unnecessarily. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) advises landowners not to touch or displace fawns that are found alone. Fawns are often left alone while their mothers forage for food. NWF states that, “Though it seems that they are vulnerable, these young fawns are not totally helpless. Their spotted pelts look like dappled sunlight on the forest floor and offer great camouflage. They do not have strong scent that would attract predators. Fawns are also programmed to keep totally still and quiet when hiding while their mother forages. The combination of the physical attributes and the behavior of both does and fawns are remarkably successful at limiting depredation at such a vulnerable time.”
Unless the fawn is obviously injured or found near a dead doe, the fawn should be left alone. If the fawn or the mother is injured, then a wildlife rehabilitation center should be contacted for help. The nearest one to us is in Zanesville. Centers like this are commonly overwhelmed in the springtime, so taking animals to centers when help is not actually needed is not helpful for the animal or the centers.
It is also ill-advised and illegal to raise wild deer in captivity as pets. Raising fawns in captivity greatly reduces their chances of survival as adults. NWF also states that, “It is difficult for an untrained person to provide a quality diet and captive care, and due to a hand-raised deer’s lack of fear of humans, these animals are more likely to be hit by cars, killed by dogs, or shot by hunters.”
In nearly all cases, it’s best to leave wildlife in the wild!
In almost all cases, the best thing to do if you encounter a baby animal in its natural habitat that seems to be alone is leave it alone and go about your day with a cool experience to share. For example: Last spring my daughter and I encountered a young fox while on a nature walk. We snapped a couple pictures and walked on to our fishing spot. It was the highlight of our day. Hopefully that fox grew up happy and healthy without our intervention and is helping control the rodent population in Southeast Ohio as we speak.
Just remember, good intentions can hurt. Leave wildlife in the wild.