Finding a baby animal alone can feel like an emergency, but being alone does not always mean the animal has been abandoned.
Many wildlife parents leave their babies unattended for long periods while they search for food or avoid drawing predators to the nest. Young rabbits, fledgling birds, fawns, and other healthy babies are often mistakenly taken from parents who are still nearby.
(Click here if it’s an injured adult)
Unless the animal is in immediate danger, injured, visibly ill, or known to be orphaned, please contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator before removing it.
A baby animal may need help if:
Whenever possible, take a photograph of the animal and its surroundings before moving it. This can help a rehabilitator determine the animal’s age, condition, species, and whether reunion with its parents may still be possible.
Once a wild animal has been contained, your job is not to raise it, diagnose it, or make it comfortable through attention and affection.
Your job is simply to keep it contained, quiet, safe, and minimally stressed until it can reach a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Use a sturdy cardboard box, pet carrier, or plastic container with a securely fitted lid and adequate ventilation.
Line the bottom with:
Avoid towels with loose loops or frayed fabric. Tiny toes, nails, wings, and legs can become caught in them.
Make sure the container is closed securely. Even very young or injured animals may suddenly jump, climb, squeeze through small openings, or attempt to escape.
Do not transport a wild animal loose in your car.
Babies and injured animals often have difficulty maintaining their body temperature.
When warmth is needed, place a heating pad set on low underneath one-half of the container. You may also use a warm water bottle or tightly sealed bottle of warm water wrapped in cloth.
Always leave part of the container unheated so the animal can move away from the warmth.
Never:
An animal that feels cold, is very young, has little fur or feathering, or appears weak may need supplemental warmth. A fully furred or feathered animal in warm weather may not. Ask your rehabilitator when possible.
Place the closed container in a quiet, temperature-controlled room away from:
Do not repeatedly open the container to check on the animal. Quietly observing through an air hole or briefly checking when necessary is enough.
A wild animal may remain perfectly still when frightened. This does not mean it is calm or enjoying your company. Wild animals instinctively hide signs of fear and weakness.
Please do not offer milk, formula, bread, seeds, worms, fruit, vegetables, pet food, or anything else unless a licensed wildlife rehabilitator has given you specific instructions for that particular animal.
Different species require very different diets. Even animals that look similar may need completely different foods, feeding schedules, temperatures, and methods.
Feeding the wrong food can cause:
Cow’s milk is not an appropriate substitute for a wild animal’s mother’s milk.
A baby animal will not starve during the time it takes to contact and travel to a rehabilitator. In most cases, an incorrect feeding is much more dangerous than missing a meal.
Do not squirt, pour, drip, or syringe water into a wild animal’s mouth.
A weak, frightened, cold, or injured animal may not swallow normally. Water can easily enter the lungs and cause aspiration, pneumonia, or death.
Do not place an open water dish inside the container unless instructed. Very young, weak, chilled, or neurologically impaired animals can become wet, cold, or even drown in shallow water.
A rehabilitator will determine whether the animal needs fluids and how they can be given safely.
It is natural to want to comfort a baby animal. To wildlife, however, human handling is not comforting.
Being touched, passed around, photographed, cuddled, or watched closely can cause intense stress, even when the animal appears quiet.
This is especially important with baby rabbits, which are highly stress-sensitive. Please do not allow children to hold, pet, kiss, carry, or play with a baby rabbit or any other wild animal.
Too much human contact can:
A baby wild animal is not a temporary pet or an educational experience for children. The kindest interaction is as little interaction as possible.
Place the container behind a closed door where children and pets cannot investigate it.
Do not allow pets to sniff the container. The sound, smell, and presence of a dog or cat can be extremely frightening to a prey species, even when the pet is gentle.
Wild animals can also carry parasites, bacteria, fungi, or diseases that may affect people or pets.
Wash your hands thoroughly after handling the animal, its container, or any bedding. Keep the container away from kitchens and food-preparation areas.
If you must move the animal, wear gloves and use a towel or cloth to gently guide or lift it whenever appropriate.
Do not handle:
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator, animal control agency, or other qualified professional for safe handling instructions.
*These animals are considered ‘Rabies Vector Species’ animals. If you are exposed to these species contact your counties health department for guidance. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE RABIES EXPOSURE. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and get some free rabies shots. They aren’t like the old ones in the stomach! I promise!
If a person or pet has been bitten, scratched, or had direct contact with a bat or a potentially rabies-exposed animal, contact the appropriate physician, veterinarian, or county public health department promptly. Do not release or dispose of the animal until you have received instructions.
An animal that has been inside a cat’s or dog’s mouth needs professional evaluation even when no injury is visible.
Tiny punctures can close quickly and disappear beneath fur or feathers. Bacteria introduced through a bite or saliva can cause a severe or fatal infection. And dogs can easily cause crushing injuries that aren’t easily seen.
When contacting the rehabilitator, be completely honest about:
This information is not used to judge you. It helps the rehabilitator make the best treatment decisions for the animal.
Write down the precise location where the animal was found. Save a dropped map pin whenever possible.
Also note:
Wildlife should be returned as close as safely possible to its original territory after rehabilitation. The original location may also be essential if the animal can be reunited with its parents.
Wildlife rehabilitators are volunteers with many animals in their care and usually are NOT able to retrieve animals. Please be prepared to transport the animal or help arrange transportation.
During the drive:
Confirm the transfer with the rehabilitator before leaving. Never leave an animal outside a rehabilitator’s home, veterinary office, or wildlife facility without permission.
While waiting for a wildlife rehabilitator:
Wildlife rehabilitation requires specialized knowledge, proper housing, species-specific nutrition, medical support, and state, and sometimes federal, permits.
A baby that appears to be eating and growing may still develop serious nutritional, skeletal, feather, behavioral, or developmental problems that are not immediately visible.
Young wild animals must also learn the behaviors they need to survive without becoming dependent on people. A tame animal is not necessarily a happy animal, an animal that loses its natural fear of humans may become unreleasable or unsafe.
The goal is not simply to keep the animal alive. The goal is to return a physically healthy, behaviorally wild animal to its natural habitat.
Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.
When reaching out, please include:
Please contact the rehabilitator before traveling. Intake availability, permitted species, and hours may vary.
Until professional help is arranged: contain the animal, keep it quiet, and resist the urge to feed or handle it. Sometimes doing less is the most helpful thing you can do.