MONTPELIER — Watching wildlife is enjoyable, especially when young animals appear in the spring. But it is best to keep your distance. Picking up young wildlife can do more harm than good, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and it is also against the law.
When people see young animals alone, they often mistakenly assume these animals are helpless or lost, in trouble or needing to be rescued. Bringing young wildlife into a human environment often results in permanent separation from their mothers and a sad ending for the animal.
Handling wildlife could also pose a threat to the people involved. Wild animals can transmit disease and angry wildlife mothers can pose significant dangers.
Fish and Wildlife scientists encourage wildlife watchers to respect the behavior of animals in the spring and early summer, and to resist the urge to assist wildlife in ways that may be harmful. Here are some helpful tips:
- Deer and moose nurse their young at different times during the day, and often leave young alone for long periods of time. These animals are not lost. Their mother knows where they are and will return.
- Young birds on the ground may have left their nest, but their parents will still feed them.
- Young animals such as fox and raccoon will often follow their mother. The mother of a wildlife youngster is usually nearby but just out of sight to a person happening upon it.
- Wild animals can carry rabies, parasites and other diseases that are harmful to humans. Healthy-looking raccoons, foxes, skunks, and bats may also be carriers of the deadly rabies virus – even babies. Rabies cases have been on the rise in Vermont in recent years, and several baby animals tested positive last year. For your safety and the safety of local wildlife, do not handle them or try to keep them as pets.
- Many wildlife species will not feed or care for their young when people are close by. Obey signs that restrict access to wildlife nesting areas, including hiking trails that may be temporarily closed.
- Keep domestic pets indoors, leashed or fenced in and vaccinate them for rabies. Dogs and cats kill many young animals each year, and pets that roam free are at higher risk for rabies.
- Avoid projects that remove trees, shrubs and dead snags that contain nests during the spring and summer.
For the safety of all wildlife, taking a wild animal into captivity is illegal, even one you suspect is sick, injured or has been abandoned.
For information about what to do when you encounter an animal in the wild, and to discuss questions and concerns about rabies, please call the Vermont Rabies Hotline at 1-800-4RABIES (1-800-472-2437).
