03/26/2026
Baby season starts this week. You're going to find baby animals in your yard. Most of them don't need your help.
Here's the decision for each one.
A baby rabbit alone in a grass nest — the mother visits once or twice a day for a few minutes, at dawn or dusk. She stays away on purpose because her scent attracts predators. The babies are not abandoned. Lay two thin sticks in an X over the nest and check in twelve hours. Sticks disturbed means mom visited.
A fawn lying alone in tall grass — the mother left it there deliberately. Fawns have almost no scent for the first week and predators can't find them. A fawn lying still with its ears up is hiding, not hurt. The mother returns several times a day to nurse. Contact a rehabilitator only if the fawn is walking in circles, visibly injured, or vocalizing continuously for many hours.
A baby bird on the ground — if it's feathered, hopping, eyes open, and roughly tennis-ball sized, it's a fledgling. Leave it. The parents are nearby and feeding it. If it's naked with eyes closed, it's a nestling that fell from the nest — put it back. The myth that parents reject a baby touched by humans is false. If it's visibly injured, contact a rehabilitator.
A baby squirrel that approaches you needs help — healthy babies don't approach humans. One sitting in a tree or on a roof is fine.
A baby opossum longer than about seven inches nose to rump is independent and on schedule. Smaller than that and alone, it may have fallen off the mother's back — contact a rehabilitator.
A baby turtle is independent from the moment it hatches. It never meets its mother. There is no such thing as an abandoned baby turtle.
🌿 The universal rule:
- Before touching any baby animal, call a wildlife rehabilitator. Describe what you see. They'll tell you what to do
- Most baby animals look abandoned because being alone is their survival strategy
- Wait and watch from a distance for a couple of hours before intervening — in most cases the parent returns on a schedule you can't see
- If a cat is near a fledgling, move the bird under a dense shrub within thirty feet. The parents find it by sound
The instinct to help is good. The information to help correctly is what makes the difference 🌿