It is spring. Technically. The Northeast is cooking anyway but up in the northern hemisphere the animals are dropping new arrivals everywhere.
Yellowstone National Park is full of them. Moose, bears, otters, gophers. The park recently shared some photos that nearly broke the internet with adorableness. There’s a baby bison. A black bear kit. A yellow-bellied marmot. Three bighorn lambs, an elk calf, two pronghorn kids.
They look huggable.
Do not hug them.
The park put out a clear warning. Keep your distance. Really. At least 100 yards for bears, wolves, or cougars. 25 yards for everyone else like bison or elk. Use your zoom lens. Or binoculars. A spotting scope even.
“As cute and fuzzy as they are remember to give wildlife room”
Listen to the rangers. They aren’t guessing.
Things get weird though when you leave the park boundaries. City streets, suburban lawns. That is different terrain. Finding an orphaned baby animal here might actually mean you should get involved. It depends on the species.
Opossums? Yeah they’re terrible parents. Mostly. When a joeyp falls off its mom’s back she keeps walking. She does not come back. If you find opossum babies alone call a wildlife hospital. Call a licensed rehabber. Do not try to reunite them.
Squirrels are trickier. They fall out of nests. It happens.
Wait it out.
Check the tree line. If the mother doesn’t show up in twelve hours you act. Pick the squirrel up. Call the experts. Greg Mertz from the New England Wildlife Center says this is the rule. There is a bizarre tip floating around the internet too. Put the squirrel in a basket high off the ground so raccoons can’t eat it. Then play YouTube videos of squirrel squeaks. Supposedly draws the mom back. Sounds ridiculous. It actually works sometimes.
Don’t try the basket trick on a bear cub.
Please don’t.
What if the elk gets closer than 25 yards? You just stare at the back of it and move slowly.
