Leave Baby Animals Alone

JEROME - June is the peak fawning and calving season for Idaho's deer, elk and antelope herds. With camping and the outdoors season well underway, well-meaning citizens often find baby animals that seem to be abandoned. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is asking people to leave them alone. "We have people calling us or bringing baby animals to the office every year," said Randy Smith, Fish and Game Regional Wildlife Manager. "Even though their intentions are good, it isn't the best thing for the animals." Mother animals often leave their young as they forage. If they return to find people milling around the baby animal they will often leave the area and come back when the people are gone. By then it is sometimes too late and their baby is gone. "If people bring young animals into the office we only have two options," Smith said. "We can attempt to return them back into the wild, which seldom works because the animal is to young to survive on its own. The second choice is to place them in a zoo. Either way the animal is generally removed from the wild forever." It is illegal for people to be in possession of wild animals. State or federal laws protect most all wildlife. People found possessing a wild animal without a permit can be issued a citation and the animal will be removed from their control. Animals raised in confinement are often destroyed because of the possibility of disease and lack of ability to survive on their own. Smaller animals, like rabbits and songbirds, should also be left alone. In nature, mother knows best.