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They're sweet wild babies with no parents in sight--but really, don't try to help Date published: 4/17/2009
By LAURA MOYER
Three baby bunnies turned up in a Spotsylvania County backyard one early spring day, cute, helpless and so little their eyes weren't even open yet. And there was no parent in sight. The homeowners called licensed wildlife rehabilitator Valerie Ackerman, full of concern and questions. Are they orphans? Should we take them inside? Should we feed them? Ackerman was quick with her answers: No, they're probably not orphans. No, don't take them inside. And no, absolutely do not attempt to feed them. It's an irony Ackerman and other wildlife rehabilitators see every springtime: Compassion kills. The fact is, many wild mothers do leave their young alone, sometimes for several hours at a time. In the case of baby rabbits whose eyes aren't yet open, mothers will leave them during daylight in ground-level nests, often in grassy areas like yards, medians or roadsides. That's why they're so readily discovered by people, who mistakenly conclude that if the parent isn't present the animal must be an orphan. But Ed Clark, president and co-founder of the Waynesboro-based Wildlife Center of Virginia, says that's anthropomorphism. Parenthood works differently in the wild. Rabbits, deer and some other mammal mothers stash their newborn offspring so the adults can go feed themselves. The babies can't yet follow, so their instinct is to stay still and silent till their mothers return. It's true that the wild infants are in some jeopardy when they're alone--but more from people than from natural predators. Farmers on tractors and people pushing lawn mowers may inadvertently injure nesting babies. Another danger: Being kidnapped. That's essentially what happens when a person attempts to rescue a baby animal, take it home and care for it. "These animals stand a far better chance of survival in the care of their parents than they have in any kind of captivity," Clark said. "People who think they're doing the right thing by treating a wild animal like a human infant--they're not helping it. They're killing it." Fawns may be irresistible, but trying to raise one by hand is incredibly damaging. Cow's milk can give them fatal diarrhea. And being raised by humans deprives fawns of the parental teaching and wild instincts they need to survive.
Date published: 4/17/2009
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