While people often aren’t intending to harm wild baby animals that are out and about in spring, that is the case, most times humans try to “rescue” animals that appear stranded.
Ninety-five per cent of the animals that are injured or orphaned, being treated at the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation, are there because of humans.
“Accidental kindness is one of the worst things that people can do for the baby animals,” Katrina Jansen told Global News Morning.
“Especially because they look so cute — you want to pick them up, you want to cuddle them, but that is one of the worst things for their well-being.”
Jansen said that thousands of animals come into the institute each year, with 1,000 baby animals being brought in last summer alone — which accounted for more than half the total patients.
The biggest issue is that many people see baby animals on their own and think they’ve been abandoned, when really, time alone is part of how they’re raised.
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“We do have some baby jackrabbits right now that have been brought in because people thought they were orphaned,” Jansen said, adding that jackrabbit mothers will leave the babies alone for extended periods of time, hiding them in a specific spot.
“If you find the babies, they’re not in trouble, their mother is coming back for them, so the best thing to do is just leave them where they are,” she said.
Some of the animals need special care, Jansen said, leading the non-profit wildlife institute to host a Baby Shower Fundraiser to try to compensate some of the costs.
The open house at the institute happens on May 28, and involves an hour-long lecture on how baby animals are rehabilitated, as well as a tour of the facility. Another open house will be held in July.
For more information on how to help the wildlife centre, visit www.aiwc.ca.
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