Spring has clearly sprung, which means you may notice baby animals and birds popping out of their hiding places.
The red fox pup in this video by Sarah Calnan Trask in southern Maine looks like he is doing a little of his own hunting while he waits for Mom to return to him. He kind of looks like he is watching for her too.
And later in the video, goslings travel between their Canada geese parents as they head for a pond.
There is nothing cuter than baby wild animals. But when people see them alone, there is a temptation to intervene.
“‘If you care, leave them there’ is what we try to impress upon people. In the overwhelming majority of cases, a [wild] animal’s best chance of survival is if you leave it alone,” said Mark Latti, communications director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, on Friday.
Usually the parent has left the baby animal where it is while hunting for food for itself or its offspring. People just assume the baby is sick or abandoned, he said.
The department gets dozens of calls a year to go get wildlife that a well-meaning person has picked up, thinking it is sick or injured. Usually those animals die when taken out of their natural environment, Latti said.
“If you come across a healthy young animal or bird, please leave it alone. The parent will come back for it, as long as you move away from it and let it be,” he said.
Also, move your pets inside or put them on leash so that they don’t bother the wild animal babies.
If you see the mother animal was hit by a vehicle, injured by a pet or the baby looks sick, don’t pick it up. It is illegal to have a wild animal in your possession without a permit. Plus wild animals carry diseases and don’t do well in captivity, Latti said.
You can contact MDIF&W staff through the following Maine State Police regional communication centers: Augusta at 800-452-4664, Bangor at 800-432-7381, and Houlton at 800-924-2261.
