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FWP advises not disrupting baby animals: “If you care, leave them there”

Posted at 11:31 AM, Jun 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-06 13:33:53-04

HELENA — With summer around the corner, baby animals are out and about.

Officials with Montana WILD and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) spoke with MTN about the importance of not touching baby animals or removing them from their environment.

Officials say if a human touches or intervenes with young animals, such as a fawn or a baby bird, the mother will leave due to a disruption from human presence.

Mothers tend to leave their young alone as a necessary survival technique, so if a baby animal appears orphaned, it’s usually not the case.

The saying goes, “If you care, leave them there.”

Laurie Wolf, FWP education program manager, said that although people may have good intentions, intervening can have dire consequences.

FWP officials also told MTN that humans touching the animals and leaving their scent does not always detract the mother from abandoning their young; it’s more the human presence that scares mothers away.

To learn more about living with Montana’s wildlife, visit FWP online at “Living With Wildlife.”

-Reported by Christine Sullivan/MTN News