If You Care, Leave Them There

Beware
the Ides of March, the soothsayer told Caesar, foretelling the day he would be
assassinated. In the Spring of 2015, the dire message should go to our local
wildlife.

As
the temperature warms, wildlife becomes more active and birthing season soon
follows. Humans start to go outdoors
more and the wildlife/people conflict begins to heat up too. The most obvious sign is the carnage on our roadways
that we begin to witness. The sign here
at the OHS is the influx of wild animals. Sadly, many of these creatures will
be juveniles that would have been safer had they been left where they were. There simply aren’t enough rehabilitation
spaces for all the wildlife in our region, and most didn’t need our help in the
first place.

I
know that stumbling upon a baby animal that appears to need help brings out a
helping instinct in all of us but spotting a baby animal by himself doesn’t necessarily
mean he’s an orphan. Many wildlife parents leave their young alone during the day,
sometimes for long periods. The mother is usually nearby and quite
conscious of her young. Also, keep in mind that despite their small size,
many young animals are actually independent enough to fend for themselves.

How you tell if an animal needs your
help or should be left alone? If an animal needs your help, you will see one or
more of the following signs:

• A wild animal presented
  to you by a cat or dog
• Bleeding
• An apparent or obvious
  broken limb
• Evidence of a dead
  parent nearby
• Unusual or uneven loss
  of fur
• Difficult or raspy
  breathing or sneezing
• Body covered in fleas