By Misi Stine, Environmental Educator and member of the MN Herpetological Society
Spring is finally here, and many species are mating and having babies. What follows inevitably, is well-meaning people posting on social media and contacting wildlife rehabilitators wanting to help wildlife they believe are in distress, orphaned, or injured. Often humans do not understand animal behavior when rearing their young, and those behaviors vary from species to species. In all cases, they are much different than humans.
Species like deer and rabbits will leave their young “hidden” on the landscape and only return once or twice a day to feed them; this allows the young to avoid detection by predators. Some species do not provide care for their young; for example many snakes and turtles. Once they lay the eggs, they leave and do not return. The hatchlings will be on their own from the moment they emerge, but they have everything they need to help them survive. If humans see something they think is concerning, a wait-and-watch approach is best. The chance of survival is much higher when the parents raise their young. Leave the animal where they were found and carefully observe. If after 1-2 days of close observation, you don’t see the parents return, then contact a qualified rehabilitator (information is listed below) to get direction on what to do next. However, if you have confirmed the young animal is injured or if the parents are confirmed to be dead, then reach out to the wildlife rehabilitator sooner.
In addition to rearing young, more animals are moving around the landscape and finding themselves in difficult circumstances for various reasons. Some are human-caused; some occur in the natural course of life, which can be difficult to witness. You must balance when and if you intervene. You must also assess the risk to yourself and others by trying to help.
Humans can take some proactive steps to help wildlife, such as:
When possible, slow down on roads and allow animals to cross.
It is unethical to interfere with one animal predating on another; understandably, it is difficult to watch, but it is necessary for the survival of the species that eat other animals, and predation is part of the balance of nature.
Lead is a problem for eagles and other birds when they scavenge on gut piles left behind by hunters or when some types of water birds ingest lead fishing tackle left behind in the water. Using non-lead options will significantly reduce the impact of wildlife lead poisoning. Several excellent alternatives are available.
Fishing gear, in general, can be an issue for wildlife, be sure to clean up any fishing line, nets, or other tackle that wildlife could become entangled in or ingest, and dispose of it in the trash. One should also properly dispose of unused bait to avoid spreading invasive species.
There are so many issues that come with free-roaming cats. They transmit parasites and diseases to other animals, including humans. Each year, they kill millions of songbirds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. It is also not the best option for the cat’s health; they can be injured or killed by cars and other animals, resulting in a shorter life span. Catios, enclosed outdoor patios built for cats, are an excellent option for cats to have access to the outdoors, to stalk and fantasize about the wildlife without harming them, reduce disease and parasite transmission, and the cat will have a longer and healthier life.
When a bird is flying around, the reflection of a window looks like the open sky to them, and when they cannot detect the glass and hit the window, commonly referred to as a bird strike, it can cause injury and death to millions more birds each year. We can do many things to reduce bird strikes, with the window coverings we use, decals on the windows, not installing bird feeders too close to the windows, and leaving windows just a little dirty.
It is common to release balloons for different occasions like a celebration or remembrance, but what goes up will come back to earth. Birds are not only caught in the strings, but the balloon itself is mistaken as a source of food, and when it is ingested, it is deadly. Instead, we can plant trees, blow bubbles, or be creative with finding other meaningful wildlife-friendly alternatives.
Glue traps, either hanging outside or at ground level, inevitably will injure or kill non-target species. Instead of glue traps, use mechanical traps or live traps that are far less likely to harm a non-target species.
Most poisons do not act immediately on the animals that ingest them. As a result, those animals wander away and die at some later time. They can be consumed by a predator looking for a meal, causing suffering and often death to that non-target species. Again, using mechanical or live traps is a better way to protect wildlife.
Feeding ducks and geese have been popular for years. However, bread, crackers, popcorn, and other human foods do not provide the nutrition necessary for good health, leading to deficiencies that impact their ability to survive. Metabolic bone disease and another condition commonly called “angel wings” both result from the overconsumption of human foods. There are other issues with feeding geese and ducks which include: overcrowding, habituation to humans, and habitat degradation.
Finally, if you observe multiple dead, dying, or sick animals near each other, contact local DNR staff to report what you have seen, as there may be an outbreak of disease, such as the avian flu we witnessed this summer, that would be important to learn about as soon as possible.
If you have questions about whether an animal needs human intervention or if you need to find a wildlife rehabilitator, below are resources, and they contain more detailed information on the issues outlined in this article.
Even if you don’t see a species listed, please reach out; they can often find someone qualified to help. This spring, a friend encountered a turtle that was hit by a car, it didn’t appear that there was a rehabilitator working with turtles in her area, but when she called, they knew just who to connect her with, and the turtle was able to receive the care it needed.
Please remember that you cannot and should not try to rehabilitate wildlife on your own, it is illegal in Minnesota. In addition, you may not be able to keep or transport an animal for greater than 24 hours unless you have the required permits. Finally, remember that wildlife can be dangerous and especially defensive when injured or sick. In addition, animals can carry zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans.
There are important ways we can be helpful to the animals we share our world with; it is just important to know when help is needed. Often the most beneficial thing we can do is look at how human activities impact wildlife and change what we do. The animals are pretty good at taking care of the rest.
