If you encounter an abandoned young bird or mammal in your backyard, field or woodlot, please do not "rescue" them, leave them alone! This is the message wildlife biologists with the provincial Fish and Wildlife Division are trying to ensure Islanders understand about "orphaned" wildlife.
The Fish and Wildlife Division has been contacted by several individuals who have "rescued" young wildlife. In many cases, these animals had temporarily strayed from the adult female and would have been recovered by her eventually.
People who retrieve fledgling birds and young mammals are exposing them to unnecessary stress and probable eventual death by "rescuing" them. Rarely will the young animal survive but those that do, such as young raccoons, will become problem animals when they reach maturity. Attempts to reintroduce captive wildlife back to the wild will fail because the animal has not learned to survive on its own.
Young animals can be orphaned through accidental death or natural predation to the parents. In the natural world, far more young are produced annually than are necessary to maintain the populations of each wildlife species. This high birth rate must be balanced by an equally high mortality rate. Predation and scavenging by other species are natural and necessary processes to ensure the long-term health of wildlife populations.
Remember! Young wild birds and mammals that you encounter should be left alone as neither the environment nor wildlife populations are helped by "rescuing" them.