What to do if you find baby wildlife

Wildlife rehabilitators and animal rescuers across Long Island said they are busier than ever tending to orphaned, injured and displaced young critters during this spring baby season.

But what makes their work even more frustrating is when well-meaning people take an animal away from their environment because they mistakenly believe it is sick or abandoned.

“We’re trying to make up for some of the damage people do,” said Lori Ketcham, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and director of Save the Animals Rescue Foundation in Middle Island.

Fledgling birds, bunnies, fox and raccoon kits and fawns are a common sight on Long Island during the warm spring months leading to summer. 

In many cases, experts say, enjoy the wildlife from a distance but don’t get involved unless it is showing clear signs of being injured or in distress.

“The first words out of my mouth when somebody says ‘I found bunnies in my yard,’ is ‘Don’t touch them! Leave them alone!,'” said Ketcham. “If you have a dog, keep the dog away.”

The situation becomes more complicated when people decide they don’t want the animal in their yard because they have children.

“I tell them this is where you teach your children respect for life,” Ketcham said. "See the beauty of the whole thing."

Learning to fly

One common misconception people have about baby birds is thinking there is something wrong when they see them hopping up and down near a bush.

These are most likely fledglings who are learning to fly, said Bobby Horvath of Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation in Massapequa.

“If it has a majority of feathers on its body and is upright and mobile, it should be left alone,” said Horvath, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. “Give it the benefit of the doubt before taking it because even if you have good intentions, you could be stealing a healthy bird from its parents.”

On the other hand, if the bird is featherless or only has slight fuzz on it and its eyes are closed, it needs immediate care, he said. But that doesn’t mean trying to feed it.

“Just keep them warm and secure until you get them into the hands of an experienced person,” he said. “If someone who isn’t experienced tries to feed it with a dropper and the fluid goes into their lungs, they can get pneumonia and die.”

Knowing when to help

When a young animal is left alone by its mother, there is likely a good explanation, even if it doesn’t make sense to human parents, experts said.

For example, a young fawn curled up in a ball on a grassy field is not necessarily in need of help, especially if it is clean.

“Baby deer do not stay with mom the first two weeks of their lives,” said Ketcham. “She will come to clean and feed it. But she doesn’t want to draw attention to it. The baby doesn’t have a chance to get away from a predator.”

If the fawn is dirty, surrounded by flies and flat on its side, it probably does need assistance from an experienced rehabilitator, she said.

Reaching out to someone who understands the behavior of animals can also help decide when to get involved. For instance, a baby opossum only about four inches long may have been left by its mother or fallen off her back and should be rescued. While opossums don’t tend to return for their babies, a raccoon mom will usually search for a kit it has been separated from, she said.

Finding resources

Horvath and Ketcham are licensed wildlife rehabilitators but they are also volunteers, who rely on donations and the help of other volunteers, including veterinarians who work for free or offer greatly reduced rates.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has a list of licensed wildlife rehabilitators on its website. Local municipal animal shelters can also be a resource for people looking for information about wildlife.

The message remains, don’t try to feed or treat an animal yourself — leave it to people with experience.

“I wish everybody would stop trying to keyboard quarterback, get on the Internet and look something up and think you’ve got the answer,” Ketcham said. “There’s a lot more to it.”

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.