More harm than good: The orphan dilemma

Spring has sprung! Love (and pollen, and lots of rain these days) is in the air! Unfortunately, the more down-to-earth side of love being in the air is that babies are on the ground. Several times a year, we have infant animals brought to us as orphans - kittens and rabbits, most often, but sometimes birds, too - by folks who are just trying to do the right thing and save a helpless animal. What a lot of people don't realize, though, is that babies that appear orphaned often aren't, and separating them from their mother can do more harm than good. Before you take a lonely baby under your wing, make sure it's really as lonely as you think it is.

If you come across a baby animal, let your brain direct you instead of your heart. We're all hard-wired to protect something so tiny and cute, but nobody is better equipped to take care of a baby than its mother. Nursing babies don't just get a balanced diet from their mothers' milk, they also get a healthy, functional immune system - something we can't provide if we bottle-feed them, and something that often is the difference between life and death at such a fragile young age. They also learn the ways of the world from observing their parent: how to hunt, how to play, how to fly, when to hide, when to run...although these things aren't necessarily vital for a kitten who will spend its whole life indoors, they are essential for any animal that will be outdoors, even intermittently.

Litters of babies are not continuously accompanied by their mother; she has to venture out to hunt, and it's neither safe nor practical for her to take her young with her when she does. Mothers also frequently will relocate a litter one baby at a time, leaving the babies in each location unattended while she makes the move. And, if she sees you in the area near her baby, she's unlikely to make her presence known until you leave. The point here is that a baby that appears to be all alone in a big, dangerous world, might actually have a mom nearby, just waiting for you to move along. If you find a litter or an individual baby, the best thing to do is leave it alone, and come back later to check on it. If the baby is still there, contact your local humane society, animal control office, or your veterinarian and find someone who can care for it. Bringing orphaned wildlife to a humane society is not usually the best way to go, because organizations like ours just aren't prepared to meet the needs of wild animals; Fish and Wildlife staffs wildlife rehabilitators who are trained to do just that, however, and some vets may do pro bono work for injured or orphaned wildlife.

There are, of course, times when a litter or baby is actually in need of immediate help, whether they're orphaned or not. Babies with visible injuries need more care than their mother can provide. If you find a baby that feels cold or is visibly shivering, that's a good sign that their mother has been gone for too long - it's her body heat that keeps them warm. Dog owners, if it's your dog that brings you a baby, you're not likely to locate the mother and she may be injured or dead; seek help for the baby as soon as possible. And, of course, if you see evidence that the mother has been injured or killed, her young are in immediate need of assistance.

In the end, the decision to take in or leave a baby or a litter is always a judgment call, so make the right observations and take it from there. Remember, though, that time-honored (and true, although it's sometimes hard for us to admit it) saying: Mama knows best. If she's around, let her do her job.




Adorably pictured: Xia (an orphan who was bottle fed from 3 days old by a WHS foster) then (above) and now (below). She's still waiting for a home.