Leave newborn wildlife alone

Seeing newborn wildlife, such as deer, possums, ducks, rabbits and songbirds, alone outside in the spring is common. But the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission urges people to leave newborn wildlife alone.

While the inclination may be to intervene, newborn wildlife rarely are abandoned. Instead, most mammals hide their young for safety and return throughout the day to nurse and care for them.

With that in mind, Game and Parks shares some rules of thumb on wildlife babies:

If you find a bird

Return young, nonfeathered birds and nests with eggs discovered on the ground back into the tree. If you find a baby bird covered in feathers on the ground, its parents are caring for it.

If you find a fawn

Fawns remain nearly scentless in the first weeks of life, and they hide in the landscape. Does intentionally feed and drink away from them to draw predator attention away from their young. If you find a fawn, do not move it. The longer a fawn is separated from its mother, the slimmer the chance they will reunite.

If you see rabbits

Mother cottontails leave baby rabbits unattended through much of the day and night. They return periodically to care for their young but avoid staying nearby to prevent drawing predators to the nest.

Wildlife are not pets

Do not try to raise wildlife babies as pets. As animals mature, they become more independent and follow natural instincts to leave and establish their own territories. Animals raised by people often are poorly prepared for life in the wild.

Keep in mind: State or federal law protects most wildlife babies and possessing them is illegal.