Montana FWP – Leave the Wild Baby Animals Alone

Every spring, the baby animals are wandering around in the Montana woods - sometimes by themselves. That's when they can get into trouble - from humans. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks officials again are cautioning people to not pick up deer fawns or other wildlife. They have many cases where a "good-intentioned" person sees a small bird trying to fly or young deer on wobbly legs and thinks they are injured. They pick them up and then find out that FWP doesn't accept, hold or rehabilitate deer, moose and elk. Plus, deer, elk and other animals often leave their young along for extended periods of time. Those spots on fawns are so the youngster can hide out if the rest of the herd is not around. So leave them alone. Some orphaned bears and mountain lions are taken to the FWP Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Hamilton, but they will not go back into the wild. Instead, there are limited options such as zoos.

By the way, your dog can be a problem, too. Newborn wildlife are most vulnerable in the spring, according to a news release from Joleen Tadej of FWP. Pet owners can be cited if their dog harasses or kills wildlife. As far as birds, some raptors have been successfully rehabilitated, but it's best to "keep wild animals wild," says FWP.