Behind the Badge - A Helping Hand?
A Helping Hand?
District Game Warden Keenan Snyder
As spring slips into summer, one of the most common phone calls received by game wardens and other Game and Fish Department staff, concerns abandoned baby or injured animals.
Most of the time we get asked if they can raise them and the answer is no.
A wild animal is not meant to be kept as a pet because of the concerns of injuries from the animal when they get older as well as the potential for the transmission of diseases that can put humans at risk.
One of the first questions I ask is where and how they found the animal.
In most cases, the most logical answer is to place the animal back where they were found it.
A lot of the time the animal is not abandoned and just placed there by the parent for safe keeping.
The parents are typically not very far away.
One good example is a baby bird that is learning to fly.
The baby bird has not yet mastered the art of flying but has left the nest.
The parents are around and will continue to care for the young until they can fly well enough to leave the area.
Another example is finding a baby deer all alone with no mother in sight.
In most cases, the mother is not that far away keeping an eye on her fawn.
The best practice for finding baby animals is to leave them alone and try to protect them from further disturbances, such as domestic dogs and other pets.
If the animal is thought to be injured or sick, please contact the North Dakota Game and Fish.
Most people have good intentions to help when they find wild animals but most of the time, they cause more harm by not leaving them alone.
Please allow wild animals to continue to be wild.