Wildlife Clinic
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Pathway

A season of young animals

Between March and September nearly every wildlife call is about something young. Read in order, these cover the animals people actually find, and the one question that settles most of them.

6 parts · 12 min ·

Nothing here expires and nothing is scored. Read the parts that are useful to you, in any order you like — this is just the order we would suggest.

  1. ExplainerBaby Rabbits: When to Leave the Nest and When to ActA shallow nest of baby rabbits in a lawn often looks abandoned because the mother is rarely visible. That is normal. Eastern cottontail mothers typically minimize time at the nest, visiting briefly to nurse and then leaving so they do not draw predators to the babies.

    2 min

    A quiet rabbit nest is usually a successful rabbit nest. The best gift we can give the family is temporary space—and rapid professional help only when an injury makes intervention necessary.

  2. ExplainerBaby Birds: Nestling or Fledgling? The Difference Changes EverythingA young bird on the ground is not automatically a bird that fell from the nest. Many species leave the nest before they are strong fliers. These fledglings spend days hopping, hiding and practicing while their parents continue to feed them.

    2 min

    Before rescuing a baby bird, identify its life stage. That single pause prevents countless healthy fledglings from being kidnapped by well-meaning people.

  3. ExplainerBaby Squirrels: Reunite With Mom Before Assuming OrphanedWhen a squirrel nest falls or a baby is found at the base of a tree, rescue may be necessary—but rescue does not always mean taking the baby away. If the mother is alive and nearby, reunion is usually the best outcome.

    2 min

    Reunion respects both the baby and the mother. A rehabilitator is valuable not only as a place to take wildlife, but as a guide who can sometimes keep a healthy family together.

  4. ExplainerWhat to Do If You Find a Fawn AloneA motionless fawn curled in grass can look abandoned, but this is one of the classic cases where human instinct often points in the wrong direction. Does commonly leave young fawns alone for long periods, returning periodically to nurse. Staying away helps keep the fawn hidden from predators.

    2 min

    For healthy fawns, compassion usually looks like restraint. “If you care, leave them there” is not indifference; it is recognition that the mother is often doing exactly what a good deer mother is supposed to do.

  5. ExplainerCanada Geese: Helping Families Without Moving the ProblemCanada geese are highly visible parents. A nest in a parking-lot island or a family trying to cross a busy road can trigger urgent concern. The safest intervention is usually to protect the family’s path rather than relocating a nest or separating adults from young.

    2 min

    Helping geese is often about giving them a safe route through a human-built obstacle. Protect the family unit, respect the law and solve the traffic problem rather than treating normal parenting as a wildlife emergency.

  6. ExplainerWhat to Do If You Find Injured, Sick, or Apparently Orphaned WildlifeWildlife emergencies are emotionally difficult because action feels better than inaction. Yet the first rule of wildlife rehabilitation is that unnecessary rescue can cause harm. The goal is to determine whether the animal truly needs intervention and, if so, transfer it to permitted care with the least possible stress.

    2 min

    Wildlife rehabilitation is not about collecting animals. It is about preserving wild lives and returning animals to wild independence. Sometimes that requires skilled treatment; sometimes it requires the wisdom to leave a healthy animal exactly where it is.

If you need an answer now

A pathway is for a quiet evening. If there is an animal in front of you, start with the question that settles it fastest.

I found an animal