Leave Young, "Abandoned" Wildlife Alone

By Mike Demick, Conservation Educator, Clearwater Region With May and June being the peak time for Idaho's wildlife to have their young, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game offers this simple suggestion to well-intentioned people finding baby animals that appear to be abandoned: Leave them alone. Most young wildlife picked up by well-meaning, concerned citizens do not survive in captivity and have no survival skills to allow release back to the wild. "If you encounter young wildlife that seems stranded, it's best to leave it alone," cautions Jay Crenshaw, wildlife manager. "Chances are the mother is close by waiting for you to leave." Resisting the urge to pick up "abandoned" wildlife helps ensure it will remain wild. Fish and Game has only a few alternatives when dealing with animals removed from the wild. They can attempt to rehabilitate the animal and place it back in the wild, which often fails because of the animal's unnatural bonding to people. The second choice is to place it in a zoo where it is forever removed from the wild. In some cases, animals must be euthanized. If you find a small animal, such as a bird, rabbit or squirrel near your home, you should put it back in the nest if possible and leave it undisturbed. All wild animals that are left alone in the wild have a better chance of survival than if they were raised in a human environment.