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DEC: Leave young wildlife alone

If you care, leave it there. That’s the message from the state Department of Environmental Conservation every spring and summer when young animals begin roaming around.

Commissioner Basil Seggos recently reminded New Yorkers to admire wildlife from a distance. Moreover, they should resist the urge to pick up newborn fawns and other young wildlife.

“When young wildlife venture into the world, they may have a brief inability to walk or fly on their own, making some people believe they might need help,” Seggos said. “However, young wildlife belongs in the wild and in nearly all cases, interaction with people does more harm than good to the animals.”

When seeing a lone young animal, many times humans will first think it has been abandoned or orphaned. That is sometimes the case. However, the DEC says young wildlife are also purposely left by their parents to keep them hidden from predators. The adult animal is probably nearby collecting food.

“White-tailed deer fawns are a good example of how human interaction with young wildlife can be problematic,” the DEC states. “Fawns are born during late May and early June, and although they can walk shortly after birth, they spend most of their first several days lying still in tall grass, leaf litter, or sometimes relatively unconcealed. During this period, a fawn is usually left alone by the adult female (doe), except when nursing. People occasionally find a lone fawn and mistakenly assume it has been abandoned, which is rare. A fawn’s best chance to survive is to be raised by the adult doe. If human presence is detected by the doe, the doe may delay its next visit to nurse.”

Never pick up a fawn, the DEC says.

Some animals are abandoned due to injury. The DEC says that anyone encountering a young wild animal that is obviously injured or orphaned can call a wildlife rehabilitator, who is a trained volunteer licensed by DEC. Legally, they are the only ones allowed to receive and treat distressed wildlife “because they have the experience, expertise and facilities to successfully treat and release wild animals once rehabilitated.”

The DEC also reminds the public that young wildlife are not pets. Keeping wildlife in captivity is illegal and harmful to the animal.

Anyone who observes wildlife that appears to be sick or behaving abnormally should contact their DEC regional wildlife office.

For more information and answers to frequently asked questions about young wildlife, visit DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov.

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