Baby Animals – If You Care Leave it There

Spring time is busy. People are excited about getting outdoors after a long winter and enjoying nature.  While on walks or playing in the park, well-meaning people will come across a baby animal that "appears" to be abandoned by its mother.

"If you pick it up or move it from where its mother left it, it’s a sure death for that animal," said Thea Ryan, Director of the Outdoor campus in Sioux Falls.

Each spring, educators at the Outdoor Campus remind children and parents that IF YOU CARE, LEAVE IT THERE in regards to animals. Ryan says mammals will leave their new babies alone almost all day while they go foraging for food.  They are not abandoned.

Ryan said in the past few days the Outdoor Campus has received at least a dozen phone calls about "abandoned or lost baby bunnies, squirrels and ducks."

She said the only exception to that rule is baby birds. She said if a bird has fallen from the nest you may replace it in the nest or up in a tree where people and pets can’t get at it. She said birds can’t smell a human’s scent and will not reject the baby bird if a human moves it out of harm’s way.

But all other animals should be left alone including baby deer, skunks and raccoons.

"Mother Nature knows the best way to take care of baby animals. We don’t. It’s really important to leave them alone, "said Ryan.