BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – An annual surge in newborn wildlife has arrived, and area wildlife officials are urging the public to refrain from moving young animals when they are found, regardless of how vulnerable they may seem.
With young foxes, opossums, squirrels, and raccoons in her care, Lori Dawson of Wild 4 Life KY says that the vast majority of her calls in the spring are regarding young rabbits. However, when young rabbits are venturing out of the nest, she explained that many of them do not require help, and the mother will return at either dawn or dusk.
“I always tell people, the rule of thumb is if you fold a dollar bill in half and if the bunny that they find is bigger than that half a dollar bill, then they’re big enough to be out on their own. And just leave them,” she explained.
The vast majority of the time, regardless of what the young animal is, Dawson advised that it’s best to leave the animal where it is. This gives the mother the best possible chance of reuniting with the young animal, though she explained that she is happy to answer any questions regarding an abandoned animal.
“Most times, we try to reunite. If you find a squirrel, I will tell you what to do so that the mom will come back and get the squirrel. The mom does a much better job raising them than I do. So, I always call before you touch. If you see blood, if you see a lot of bugs on them, then it’s okay to touch, but otherwise call us first,” she said.
While not all calls in the spring are about a newborn, they often relate to the newborn’s nearby mother trying to gather the necessities for survival.
“Another common question I get is, ‘Hey, there’s a raccoon in my backyard, there’s a fox in my backyard, it’s during the day, it’s got rabies.’ It doesn’t have rabies. This is baby season, they’re having to catch more prey to feed the babies and themselves and they’re nursing on top of that, so they’re gonna be out having to catch more prey than normal,” Dawson said,
With more wildlife presence comes more interactions with those who are not necessarily animal lovers. However, for Dawson, this typically means more intakes for her as well.
“A lot of the animals I get in, they’ve seen a fox, they’ve shot it, now I’ve got babies. They see a raccoon, they’ve shot the mom, they find the babies, and now they don’t have a mom to reunite with,” Dawson said. “A lot of wildlife is considered nuisance. They get into your attics, they get into your crawlspaces, they get in your barns. There are ways to evict these animals.”
Dawson explained that one of those methods includes soaking tennis balls in an all-natural fly prevention spray for horses. The scents of the natural oils in the spray will typically encourage any nuisance wildlife to take their offspring somewhere else to raise.
When in doubt, Dawson said she is happy to answer any questions regarding nuisance animals.
“If you’re having a nuisance problem, call one of us, try the safe way and nonviolent way first before you take matters into your own hands,” she said.
Wild 4 Life KY can be reached through their Facebook page, or via call or text at (270) 991-1289. They are a nonprofit organization that runs entirely on donations. To contribute, visit their website.
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