Keeping Wild Babies with Their Natural Parents
Photo of twin fawns taken in N26 on 05/16/22. The mother was nearby watching her babiesl
Reuniting healthy young wild animals with parents should be an obligation, not an option, in nearly all situations. Juveniles raised in the wild by their own parents learn valuable skills such as prey recognition and predator avoidance that are impossible to teach in a rehab setting. Older juveniles also benefit significantly from the protection of parents during the vulnerable period while they are becoming independent.*
Much too often, wild babies are unnecessarily brought to All Things Wild by well-meaning people who think the babies have been orphaned or abandoned. In truth, the babies have been taken away from their parents, and whenever possible, we send them back. Please help All Things Wild keep wild babies with their natural parents.
Here are some tips on keeping wild babies with their wild parents:
Squirrels: Squirrel nests are those big leaf structures high up in trees. Usually, a baby who falls out of the nest is under the tree. The mother will come down to get her baby and carry it by the scruff of the neck back up to the nest. If you find a baby squirrel under a tree and can see a nest in the tree, put the baby on a soft, clean towel in a box under the tree and leave the box for a maximum of 4 hours. The mother squirrel will not pick up a cold baby because she thinks it is dead. Warm up cold baby squirrels before putting them outside in the box. The mother squirrel will not come down for her baby if she sees people watching, so go away or hide. If after 4 hours, the mother has not come, take the baby to a wildlife rehabilitator. DO NOT leave the baby outside overnight.
Opossums: Once the baby opossums have left the mother’s pouch, the babies are responsible for clinging to the mother’s fur on her back as she moves along. The mother will stop to forage, and the babies all scamper off her back to practice foraging. When the mother is ready to move on, she makes a noise to signal the babies who are responsible for climbing onto her back. If a young opossum fails to climb on or falls off, he is left behind. The mother does not go back for him. A left-behind baby needs to come to rehabilitation. If a young opossum measures a minimum of 7 inches from nose to butt, excluding the tail, he is on his own and does not need to come to rehabilitation unless injured.
Raccoons: If the babies have been captured and the mother has run off, there is a way to get the mother to come back for her babies. In the evening, put the babies in a cardboard box on the ground near where the mother was entering the house. Tuck the flaps of the box as shown below. Tucking in the flaps is important because the mother can rip the box open while the tucked flaps will protect the babies from predators. Leave the box all night. The mother will come during the night to claim her babies and carry them away.
If you are leaving baby raccoons out overnight for the mother to retrieve, make sure the box flaps are closed.
Cottontails: If the location of the nest is known, the uninjured baby or babies should be returned to the nest. The mother rabbit does not stay with the nest because to do so would attract predators. The mother almost always visits her babies at night to clean and feed them. If there is a problem with your dog, cover the nest during the day while the dog is outside and uncover it when you bring the dog in at night so the mother cottontail can feed her babies. Ideas for a cover are an inverted wheelbarrow, laundry basket with a rock on top, tomato cage, or a heavy flowerpot. Just remember that the mother’s milk and care are best for the babies so it is always preferable that they stay in the nest.
Songbirds: If the baby bird has no or only a few feathers and cannot sit up or move around, an attempt should be made to return the baby to the nest. If the nest has been destroyed, a substitute nest can be made and hung nearby. Ideas for substitute nests are colanders, strawberry baskets, or anything with holes in the bottom that will drain if it rains. Leaves and grass can be added to the artificial nest.
If the bird has most of its feathers and can move around, it is a fledging and has purposely left the nest and will never return to the nest. The parents are keeping an eye on their youngster on the ground and bringing it food. It is during this time that the young bird is learning to fly, to find food, and to recognize danger. Please leave these birds alone and let the natural parents continue raising their youngster.
White-tailed Deer: Deer mothers do not stay with their babies. To do so would attract predators. Mothers will leave their fawns in the most unusual places and come back several times during the day and night to nurse. When clean and healthy, a young fawn will lie very still and will not be noticed by predators. The mothers can nurse, clean bottoms, and be gone in 5 minutes, so her presence can be easily missed.
If a fawn is lying alone and curled up, it is probably OK. The best way to check if the baby is OK is to lift the tail and make sure the bottom is clean. If there are feces on the baby’s bottom, something has happened to the mother, and the baby needs to come to rehab. If the baby is lying straight out, as opposed to curled up, something is wrong with the baby. If the baby is covered in ants, brush off the ants and move the baby to a safer spot nearby. If the baby is lying in the sun, it’s OK to pick it up and move it into nearby shade.
DO NOT FEED THE BABY. Cow milk will kill the baby. Further, the game warden takes very seriously any attempts to kidnap and raise the fawn and will issue very expensive fines. Kidnapped fawns, imprinted on humans, ALWAYS COME TO A TRAGIC END. Kidnapped fawns need to be turned in to ATW or a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.
If the mother is killed by a car and the young ones are up and running about, they will need to be confined, like in a fenced yard, to be captured and brought to rehabilitation. It is impossible to catch mobile fawns out in the open because they can run a lot faster than you can.
And finally, THE TOUCHING THING IS A MYTH! Touching a wild baby will not deter its mother from caring for her baby.
*Anne Miller was, until she retired, the Director of Reunite Wildlife in Birmingham, AL; a national expert on reuniting wild babies, especially birds; and author of the book, Calls of the Wild.
Photo contributed by Nancy Axtell.
Article contributed by All Things Wild. Originally published in Paws 'N Claws April 2022 newsletter.
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