The Government of Saskatchewan wants people to remember to leave wildlife in the wild. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Young Wildlife

Province: Wildlife belong in the wild

May 19, 2019 | 9:16 AM

Spring can be an exciting time for nature enthusiasts with young animals like fawns, ducklings and rabbits appearing.

However, the provincial government wants to remind the public to leave wildlife alone, even if they appear lost or helpless. Bruce Reid, a conservation officer in the Swift Current area, said the animal’s chances of survival decrease when they come into contact with humans.

“The most important reason for leaving wildlife in the wild is that they’re wild and taking them into captivity is the last place they do well,” he said.

Reid said people may see young animals alone and think they have been abandoned but there are good reasons why a mother may leave her young on their own.

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“In the case of deer fawns, if you find it and it looks like it’s abandoned, it mostly likely isn’t. They’re left by their mothers so their mothers can go feed and not draw attention to the young one,” he said.

According to Reid, sometimes fawns can be left alone for up to 12 hours. He said this is the case with most other forms of wildlife that leave their young alone during parts of the day.

Reid said if someone comes across a bird that has fallen out of the nest, taking it into the house is not the best thing to do. He explained if you know where the nest is you should try to place the bird back in it. If that is not possible, leaving the fallen bird in place is not a bad idea.

“In a lot of cases, if you just leave them [baby birds] alone on the ground the adults will fend for them and just feed them on the ground,” he said.

In you do come across an obviously injured animal, Reid said it is best to get in touch with the local conservation office. That should also be the case if people notice an animal wandering alone and they find the mother dead nearby. When injured or orphaned animals are found conservation officers will try to take them to a rehabilitation centre.

“Only the licensed rehabilitators are allowed to possess wildlife for rehabilitative purposes,” he said.

Reid added wildlife is the property of the crown and people can face fines if they have it without the proper documents.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn