What To Do If You Find An Orphaned Animal
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- May and June are the most active months for finding orphaned and injured baby animals. A coyote pup is the latest orphan being cared for by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville.
You never know what's going to come through the door at the WRC. On this day baby squirrels got their tails tangled. But it's orphaned animals that keep surfacing this time of year.
"Just about everything that nests here, we see a lot of baby birds," executive director Phil Jenni said.
Someone in southern Minnesota found the coyote pup. He's five to seven weeks old.
"They actually did the right thing by leaving it right where it was for a certain amount of time and it became clear there was no parent around," Jenni said.
If you find what you think is an orphaned animal WRC ask people to call them. Veterinarians will likely have you monitor the baby for 24 hours before bringing it in but they'd like to walk you through it.
"That's the big question: did you see the mom, if you didn't see the mom how do you know mom wasn't there. Every species deals with it a little bit differently," medical director and veterinarian Renee Schott said.
In general, most baby animals are fine on their own. Mom's often nearby.
"It's always best to leave it with mom and if we've exhausted all options, we've tried reuniting then we are the last option," Schott said.
An injured orphaned baby, like a red fox that came in with an injury, should be brought in. The center is an emergency wildlife hospital and can help. The cub had surgery and will stay until healthy.
"Our goal is always to have the animals be able to survive in the wild," Jenni said.
The center also starts getting fawns this time of year. They can survive longer than most species in the wild when orphaned. Click here for more information.