Leave nature to care for its own, wildlife biologists say

As more people head outdoors to enjoy spring weather, they’re entering nature’s nurseries where it’s best to leave the babies be.

Last week, for example, a male whitetail fawn was brought into the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine teaching clinic by a person concerned the animal had been abandoned by its mother.

“That’s the bad news,” the college’s public information officer, Charlie Powell, wrote in a press release. “The good news? In this situation there isn’t any.”

The fawn, removed from its home and mother and then bottle fed by humans, cannot be returned to the wild.

The animal was removed to a wildlife rehabilitation facility in the Spokane area, where it can be cared for and eventually live out its life in a zoo, wildlife park or other facility.

Although sometimes difficult to understand for concerned individuals fearing for the safety of a lone fawn on the forest floor, the mother is usually not far away and is likely sensing the goings on, Powell wrote.

“Fawns are left alone for long periods of time while the doe goes out to feed so she can maintain her milk supply,” Powell wrote. “She always knows right where her fawns are and often can see them and you without revealing her position.”

According to WSU vets, does instruct their young to remain still regardless of what is going on around them. This makes them unlikely to attract the attention of predators, but easy for humans to approach and remove.

The advice of not removing wildlife remains the same for all young animals and birds, such as bunnies, fledgling owlets and squirrels, Powell wrote.

They don’t usually need human help, according to WSU veterinarians.

Idaho Fish and Game has also released a plea for the public to leave young wildlife alone, listing a plethora of animals – including fawns, calf elk, baby birds, ducklings, goslings, raccoon kits and rabbits – brought to its offices after being “rescued” from the wild.

All too often, the “rescued” animals, like the fawn removed from its home and taken to WSU, lack survival skills to be replaced in the wild.

They don’t thrive in captivity, and if they do they are destined to spend their lives far from the wild environment they were born to, Fish and Game biologists say.

Additionally, removing animals from their habitats is a crime in Washington and Idaho.