Today’s patient of the day is a little Canada Goose gosling. It was found by a state highway worker and brought to us for care and rehabilitation.
In addition to this little one coming in, NYWRC received three calls about “abandoned” fawns.
Please know that, when you find a fawn without its mother, it is almost never truly abandoned. In order to protect their offspring from predators, does will move away from their babies after bedding them down in hiding places. Sometimes the little ones will get up and wander, but they never go far, and the mom will always return and find them again. Every season, baby animals are taken unnecessarily from their parents because people don’t realize that this separation is how mothers protect their young, and mom is never very far away. Birds, fawns and rabbits are the most common victims of these kindly-meant abductions.
Please visit the NY Department of Environmental Conservation’s article on “If You Care, Leave It There“.
Of course, if you know for a certainty that the mother is dead, or if the baby is injured (or has been caught by a cat or dog), then a call to your local licensed wildlife rehabilitator is in order. Many veterinarians keep rehabbers’ phone numbers on hand, or you can do an internet search for wildlife rehabilitators in your area.
If you are in New York State, the DEC has a listing of licensed rehabbers on their website as well as a listing of regional DEC phone numbers.
New York Wildlife Rescue Center, Inc. 