Published: May 15, 2008 10:46 am            

DNR urges people to leave nesting wildlife alone

Indiana Conservation Officers are asking the public to please leave nesting wildlife young where they find them.

Spring and summer is the time of year that wildlife mothers often place their nesting young in areas that are also shared with people. When well intended individuals come across a wildlife nest, the first inclination is that the mother has abandoned the nest and the young will need help.

Here are some facts to consider when finding young wildlife:

•Some wildlife mothers leave the nests for long periods of time and only return to feed the young. They are even less likely to return if there is a constant human presence that would be looked at as a possible predator.

• Human scent added to the nest site can increase the possibility of a predator finding the nest.

• By removing the young from the nest, the odds of survival are decreased.

• Rehabbing young wildlife requires significant knowledge and effort. Wildlife can only be rehabilitated by individuals licensed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. These licensed individual's primary purpose is to address injured wildlife and they do so out of their own pockets. Inundating these people with wildlife young that did not need to be removed from the nest to start with adds a significant burden to these volunteer wildlife rehabilitators.

• Wildlife young have a mortality factor which is a part of nature.

        

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