To Help Baby Animals Survive, Leave Them Alone

They look so cute and helpless, but your efforts to help them could harm the animal and reduce its chances of survival.

It’s important to understand that wildlife care for their young much differently than humans. One strategy that some species, particularly those typically preyed upon by other animals (deer, rabbits, birds), is to distance themselves from their young for many hours at a time. This helps to keep predators away from their young. For example, fawns are born without a scent, and it is safer for them if their mother, who has a scent, is not nearby. This can also distract a predator by focusing on the doe rather than its offspring.

Wild animals thrive better with plenty of natural habitat (food, water, shelter, space). The potential to spread wildlife disease is also a good reason to leave young wildlife alone. Baby ground squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits can carry zoonotic diseases, which means infectious diseases for humans. Examples include plague, hemorrhagic diseases, and tularemia.

If you see a baby animal, whether a goose or a grizzly, keep your distance and leave it alone. Handling baby animals can be dangerous, and usually, once young animals are picked up by people, they can’t be rehabilitated.

FWP does not accept, hold, or rehabilitate moose, deer, elk, and most other animals, including waterfowl. If you bring a deer or elk to FWP, you’ll be asked to take the animal back to the site where it was found. If the animal can’t be returned, it may need to be humanely euthanized.