As weather begins to warm up in Boulder County, newborn animals are also beginning to emerge.

And as the number of newborn animals out and about rises, so does the number of wildlife rescues, according to Mysti Tatro, community relations manager for Boulder County’s Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

“We have over 240 patients on site right now and over 650 intakes this year, so it’s only going to get more crazy from here on out. June and July is when we get our most intakes a day,” said Tatro, adding, “We get a plethora of species that are having their young in the spring … Mostly we are seeing fox, squirrels, ducklings, goslings.”

But while residents may be seeing lots of newborn animals seemingly on their own, that does not always mean they need rescuing.

“The general rule of thumb is just because they are alone doesn’t mean they are in need of help,” Tatro said. “Most of the time, folks’ concern is that they don’t see mom or dad, and a lot of times that’s not the case, which is why we recommend calling a wildlife professional. We really rely on animal control to bring us the animals that are more risky to handle … like foxes, coyotes and raccoons.”

Longmont Animal Control Supervisor Allison Rivas, recalled some of the more common wildlife rescues that have taken place recently.

“We’ve been getting regular calls with raccoon moms having babies in peoples’ chimneys.” Rivas said. “It’s going to be a busy season ahead of us.”

When responding to these types of wildlife rescues, animal control officers prefer to utilize a less invasive method of removal.

“We utilize light and noise and let the mom know that she should move her babies,” said Rivas.

In general wildlife situations, Rivas stated that she and other animal control officers heavily rely on Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and that residents should too.

Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, located between Longmont and Lyons at 5761 Ute Highway, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 and is the only wildlife rehabilitation center treating wild birds, waterfowl, and mammals along the Front Range from north of Pueblo.

“First thing is to always reach out to wildlife rehabilitators. Greenwood is a great resource.” said Rivas. ”If at all possible, we want to reunite with mom. Keep an eye on the area, if (the animal) looks healthy otherwise, we want to give mom a chance to return to her babies. If they are sick, injured or actively bleeding, we will come to pick them up and attempt to rescue and or rehabilitate.”

Recently, six fox kits or fox babies, were brought to the wildlife rehabilitation center after being orphaned.

“It’s a sad story. … There was a person that has been overseeing a fox family for many generations… They put a trail cam out there to watch them play. They saw very clearly on the trail cam that the parents weren’t there for a few days. The babies were starting to get lethargic because they weren’t getting fed by the parents,” Tatro said.

Since then, Tatro said that the kits have recovered and are being transferred to another rehabilitation center where they will have more land to roam and to learn how to hunt.

“Those little fox kits came into (Greenwood) and they had mostly a clean bill of health and they are doing great now,” said Tatro.

Reuniting separated babies with wild parents is the best chance for the newborn’s survival. If small wildlife, like birds and squirrels, needs to be escorted to a different part of your yard, use gloves or a barrier like a dustpan or towel.

“The most important thing to do is to not touch it right away, if the animal is moved it could greatly decrease the chances of the animal being reunited with its parents,” said Tatro. “Never feed no matter the situation, it can make it really tough for wildlife rehabilitators.”

Also, nocturnal animals like skunks and raccoons may be active during the day if they have babies or are babies, according to the post.

Animal officers request that when determining if a wild animal needs animal protection assistance to look for symptoms like wobbling, seizures, drooling, eye or nose discharge, disorientation, extreme aggression or docility, and drunkenness or staggering.

“Right now we are really emphasizing not touching any animal with bare hands because there’s a distemper outbreak in raccoons. A sign of the raccoons is coming up to people and being more friendly,” said Tatro.

Distemper is a highly contagious virus that causes coughing, nasal discharge, diarrhea, loss of balance, and loss of fear of humans. Distemper cannot spread to humans.

According to a Facebook post, wildlife professionals across the Boulder County area have observed a “concerning increase in positive distemper cases among raccoons.”

“There’s been some really clear signs …  They kinda stumble around like drunken sailors. It’s not something that can be cured,” said Rivas.

Generally, when coming across an injured or abandoned newborn animal, wildlife professional agree that reunification with the parents is the highest priority.

“We understand that everyone wants to help, but give mom a chance to come back … mom is often around, she’s just not announcing it to everyone,” said Rivas. “If you are concerned, I always say to still call us, we can try to walk you through steps for reuniting.”