Young and newborn wildlife often attract the attention of well-meaning citizens. Wildlife agencies and local nonprofits are reminding people to keep their distance.
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) gets dozens of calls every spring from concerned wildlife lovers who have found what seem to be abandoned baby birds. Often the parents remain nearby. Eliza Burlingame, marketing director for ACES, said the best course of action is to leave the young animals alone.
“At that stage of a bird’s life, they really need their parent to be able to succeed, learn how to hunt, learn how to fly,” she said.
ACES does have a permit to rehabilitate birds of prey, but Burlingame said there isn’t much the nonprofit can do to help young wildlife.
The state agency Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has some resources to handle injured wildlife. Officials stress the importance of keeping distance from young wild animals.
To protect them from predators, newborn mammals don’t have a scent. When humans touch them, it leaves behind a foreign scent that adult animals may not recognize, which can endanger the young. If a newborn appears to be abandoned for more than 24 hours, CPW officials recommend calling the agency, but do not touch the animal.
