Sheridan -

Game and Fish personnel have received dozens of calls in recent weeks from well-meaning residents or visitors who have found a baby bird or other young wildlife they believe is orphaned. In almost every case, the young animal is not orphaned, lost, or otherwise in danger.

Bird chicks are the most common animal found and reported to Game and Fish. Many game species, including grouse, turkeys and pheasants, as well as other locally-familiar birds such as meadowlarks, killdeer and some sparrows, are ground nesters and therefore their chicks begin life on the ground.

Other chicks, particularly owlets, often fall from tree nests before they are able to fly. These chicks are regularly found by children or adults who assume they need assistance, but leaving the chick alone is the best course of action. Even on the ground, chicks continue to be protected and fed by one or sometimes both of the parent birds.

It is a myth that birds abandon their chicks after they are handled by humans, but picking up or moving the chick will stress it and the adult birds caring for it.

Children playing outside are often the ones who find a chick on the ground and become concerned about its situation, sometimes taking it to an adult. Now is a good time to have a conversation with them, explaining that leaving a baby chick where they find it allows the adult birds to continue caring for it.

Instead, children can help the chick by keeping pets indoors temporarily and in the case of dogs, having responsibility for taking the dog outside only on a leash for a few days. Chicks mature quickly and should take only a few days to build strength and fly on their own.

In mammals, many ungulates (hooved mammals) use the ‘hider’ strategy to improve survivability of their offspring. Employed by deer, elk and pronghorn, the strategy depends on concealment rather than defense to protect young offspring. In fact, does and cow elk intentionally leave young offspring on their own for most of the day during their first weeks of life. This is natural and safe behavior.

Calves and fawns remain hidden and quiet for their first few weeks of life. They are born with spotted coats that effectively camouflage them as they hide in tall or thick vegetation. Additionally, they emit little smell compared to an adult, so the cow or doe will limit her time around the calf or fawn. She will visit occasionally to feed it, but otherwise keeps her distance to reduce the chances of attracting a predator.

It is during this period of hiding that people may find a calf or fawn and want to ‘help it’. But a hidden, solitary calf or fawn is behaving exactly as it should. If you find a fawn or calf, do not approach, touch or move it. Doing so will decrease its chances of survival.

Handling wildlife can also potentially expose you to parasites and diseases that can transfer from animals to humans. This is true of baby wildlife but also any other wildlife you might encounter that appears ill or injured. If you encounter an injured animal or have reason to believe a fawn or calf truly is orphaned, call the Sheridan Regional Office at 307-672-7418.

- WGFD -