How to Best Help Spring Babies

With our long-awaited, warm, glorious Spring (isn't it such a beautiful day  here in Omaha?!) comes the bulk of our wildlife charges: BABIES! Contrary to popular belief, parent animals will indeed respond to cries of distress and return to their young, even if they have been touched by human hands. Should you find a baby animal, here are some quick tips to help you best help Nature take its course.

*Before removing the baby from its environment, determine whether or not it really needs help. 
Stop and have a good look at your surroundings. Is it snuggled into a nest in the ground, or hidden under a bush? Is there a tree nearby from which it could have fallen? Do you hear any sharp cries from what could be its mother (as with fledgling birds)? 

Animals have the best chance at survival if they remain with their parents. Oftentimes the parents know exactly where they have tucked their youngsters-- and will come back. Finding a baby out on its own doesn't automatically mean it needs human intervention.  

*Examine the baby with eyes-only.
Is it obviously injured? Can you see blood, puncture wounds or a broken bone? Are there flies around it? Does it seem weak or unable to use its legs? 

Pink, hairless babies with sealed eyes are in grave danger if they are separated from their mothers for even a short time. A healthy baby not in need of help will have a glossy coat, round, bright eyes and a sense of self-preservation, in that it will likely try to get away from you.  

*If you think everything looks okay, leave the baby there.   
Baby birds on the ground with most of their feathers are fledglings learning to fly; you should leave it on the ground. You can place a younger baby (no feathers, eyes shut) gently back in a visible nest.

Baby squirrels (if its eyes are open) can be left at the base of a tree.

Bunnies can be placed back in their ground nests and covered with grass or other greenery.

Raccoons pups are almost never far away from their mothers, but the mother will wait for you to leave before she approaches.
 
In any case, please allow the mother around four to six hours to return.   

*If you determine the baby needs help, help it.
In these instances, call us at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, then put on some gloves and place the baby carefully into a shoebox or other small container, lined with soft cloth, tissues or paper towels. If possible, please try to avoid any kind of terry cloth, as delicate toenails can be caught in its loops. Cover the baby with more cloth and put the covered (but not sealed) container in a dark, quiet, warm place away from children and pets. If you have a heating pad, set it to low and place the container halfway on the pad. Resist the urge to handle the cute little thing, as they are easily susceptible to shock...and wash your hands well!
    

Please do not give the baby anything to eat or drink unless instructed to do so by a wildlife rehabilitator.

This is only a very basic outline of how you can help baby wildlife if you find yourself in a position to do so. Rehabilitators with Nebraska Wildlife Rehab are always happy to help you analyze a situation to see if a baby needs to come into care--so if the need arises, don't hesitate to call us at 402.234.2473. And for more detailed information, useful tips on what to do when you find an adult animal, and other interesting reading, please visit our website at www.nebraskawildliferehab.org!
Thanks for all you do!


Nebraska Wildlife Rehab is trying to raise $150,000.00 to help Great Plains wildlife right here in the Heartland. Please help us! Visit our fundraising page and donate! 

The Story of the Fox Kits

In late March, a local farmer decided to take down an outbuilding on his farm with a skid loader. It was a small building and only took one good push to knock it down. As the dust settled, he noticed something that looked out of place. He heard something. He ventured closer...and saw five little fox kits in a small nest, just beneath where the outbuilding's floor boards had been. The skid loader wheels had passed right next to their den!

The kind farmer gathered up the kits and put them in the bed of his truck, then called us at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab for help. As a general rule when babies are found, we ask the public to put them back and leave for a while to give the mother a chance to return for her young. The presence of people generally spooks adult animals, and the mother of  most any species will hide and wait for a human to leave before approaching her young. Our farmer carefully replaced the kits, then piled soft dirt around the den so if the mother did return but not move the kits, he would at least see her tracks and know she was nearby. After a night and a day, the mother had still not returned, and the farmer called us back.

One of our veteran volunteers, Treasurer, and now Executive Director, Laura Stastny, drove two hours to take the kits into care. Upon a thorough inspection it was determined that our babies were five females, just a few weeks old, and just beginning to open their eyes.

 
Laura started them on bottles right away. They have done exceedingly well and are now eating formula and soft foods out of dishes.  

As growing red fox kits do, they are establishing a hierarchy amongst themselves by rough-housing, tumbling, and play-fighting. Once established, a "leader" kit in the wild would get to eat first (due to limited food supply) and push away her siblings. Since Laura is rearing them instead, there will always be plenty of food and so the kits will share.  



In two weeks, these babies will go into a large outdoor enclosure to begin "wilding them out"-- acclimating them to weather changes, allowing them to catch their own small live prey within the enclosure, and letting their natural wariness of humans to grow. Fear of humans is an essential key to any wild animal's survival; we don't want them wandering too near people or cars where they can be hurt or killed. 

The kits will stay in their enclosure to wild out until July, at which time we'll release them (with permission, of course) onto an appropriately-sized tract of land. Hopefully they will be able to make their own lives, and live a long time, after that point! 

If you'd like to see more videos of these little foxes, along with other animals we've taken into care, please visit and subscribe to the Nebraska Wildlife YouTube page.

And if you'd like to help support us in our efforts to save beautiful native wild creatures like these, please donate! Our 50 States for Great Plains Wildlife Fundraiser is running right now, and the animals benefit from every single dollar from generous people like you! 

Phew! What a summer!

Please excuse the long interruption in posts-- it's been quite a busy summer for everyone! Here are our most recent pictures of the sweet little beaver and tiny, fuzzy minks we had....none of whom are so tiny anymore!

Baby opossums in my backyard

I'm currently rearing a litter of six little joeys. They're lapping their formula now and very interested in applesauce, escaping their kennel, scattering in all directions in the backyard, and practicing their climbing with this tree and tire swing!

Have you ever seen a mink?

I hadn't, until Nebraska Wildlife received these three sweet little babies!

Last month a local business had to move a piece of heavy machinery that had been sitting all winter on a work site near the Missouri river in northeast Omaha.  When they did, a mother mink ran out, leaving behind her three babies that were only a few days old.  It was a blustery, rainy day, but one of the workers knew he needed to give the mother a chance to reclaim her young, so he put them in a container and left them near the original den site, making sure they stayed warm.  The kind worker did exactly the right thing, but unfortunately the mother didn't return the entire day, likely due to all the human commotion and noise on the work site.  Because the day was so cold and wet, the minks' rescuer knew he couldn't leave them on the construction site overnight, and had no choice but to take the babies home with him when he left for the day.  He immediately called NWRI and transferred them to us so that they could receive the care they needed.  

 

 

Over the past three weeks, they have more than quadrupled in weight and are beginning to look more like mink than they did when they first arrived.  They are getting very close to opening their eyes (mink open their eyes at 3 1/2 to four weeks of age) and will be transitioned off of formula and over to solid food within a few weeks after that.  We are working on designing and building a wilding cage specifically for mink, as they can escape from most of our traditional caging.  They'll need to spend time in this cage to acclimate to the outdoors, so we expect to have them for a few months as they learn to hunt, swim, and make their way in the wild! 

 

 Just look at these tiny things. What a privilege to care for them, and what a responsibility to do it right!

Would you like to help us care for these fuzzy little mink? Every donated dollar goes directly to food in these creatures' bellies and the wilding cages we build for them. Help us help animals here!

We'll be back with updates....thanks for all you do!

Meet the Beaver!

Surprise! A little over a month ago, utilities workers in north-central Nebraska found a baby beaver that they thought had a broken leg! Poor thing. They picked her up and took her to the nearest veterinarian, which happened to be a spay-neuter clinic.  The veterinarian didn't have x-ray equipment on site, so she splinted the baby's leg and her assistant contacted us here at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. A volunteer at the clinic transported the baby to Valentine, NE and cared for her overnight.  Then the next day, she drove the baby to meet Shelley, a Nebraska Wildlife volunteer from O'Neill.  Shelley took the baby back to O'Neill, where she met up with a couple more of our volunteers from Omaha, Susie and Dan.  They drove the baby all the way back to Omaha on the same day, a seven-hour trip in total, to make sure she received the medical attention and formula she needed!

On Saturday, April 24th, Dr. Keith Halsey at VCA Animal Medical Center x-rayed the little beaver's leg and determined that although it was sprained, it was not broken, and that it should heal without any intervention.  Nebraska Wildlife volunteers now have the long task of raising and rehabilitating this unique baby and returning her to the wild. 

Amy, this baby's primary caretaker, reports that she has been on formula for several weeks now, but is really beginning to eat solid foods.  She loves sweet potatoes and willow branches.  Her diet consists of several other foods as well, but those are her favorites!  

Since it has been such a long time since Nebraska Wildlife has had baby beavers, we no longer have an enclosure suitable for their rehabilitation and are in the process of a building a new, large enclosure, complete with a pool and "chew-proof" walls.  We couldn't do all of this work with our amazing animals if it wasn't for the support of our generous public-- so if you find your heartstrings tugged, please donate to our baby beaver's care and her new home today! We'll post pictures of her enclosure once it's built and keep you posted on her progress too!

Spring is just on the horizon...

...and with Spring comes the bulk of our wildlife charges: babies! Contrary to popular belief, parent animals will indeed respond to cries of distress and return to their young, even if they have been touched by human hands. Should you find a baby animal, here are some quick tips to help you best help Nature take its course.

*Before removing the baby from its environment, determine whether or not it really needs help. Stop and pay attention to your surroundings. Is it snuggled into a hidey-hole in the ground, or hidden under a bush? Is there a tree nearby from which it could have fallen? Do you hear any cries of agitation from what could be its mother? Animals have the best chance at survival if they remain with their parents, and oftentimes the parents know exactly where they have tucked their youngsters-- and will come back. Finding a baby out on its own doesn't necessarily mean it needs human intervention.

*Examine the baby with eyes-only.
Is it obviously injured? Can you see blood, puncture wounds or a broken bone? Are there flies around it? Does it seem weak or unable to use its legs? Pink, hairless babies with eyes closed are in grave danger if they are separated from their mothers for even a short time. A healthy baby will have a glossy coat, round, bright eyes and a healthy sense of self-preservation, in that it will likely try to get away from you.

*If you think everything looks okay, leave the baby there. 
Baby birds on the ground with most of their feathers are fledglings learning to fly; you should leave it on the ground. You can place a younger baby (no feathers, eyes shut) gently back in a visible nest.
Baby squirrels (if its eyes are open) can be left at the base of a tree.
Bunnies can be placed back in their ground nests and covered with grass or other greenery.
Raccoons pups are almost never far away from their mothers, but the mothers will wait for you to leave before they approach.

In any case, allow the mother around four to six hours to return. 

*If you determine the baby needs help, help it.
In these instances, call a wildlife rehabilitator, then put on some gloves and place the baby carefully into a shoebox or other small container, lined with soft cloth, tissues or paper towels. Try to avoid any kind of terry cloth, as delicate toenails can be caught in its loops. Cover the baby with more cloth and put the covered (but not sealed) container in a dark, quiet, warm place away from children and pets. If you have a heating pad, set it to low and place the container halfway on the pad. Resist the urge to handle the cute little thing, as they are easily susceptible to shock...and wash your hands well!  

Please do not give the baby anything to eat or drink unless instructed to do so by your wildlife rehabilitator.

This is only a very basic outline of how you can help baby wildlife if you find yourself in a position to do so. Rehabilitators with Nebraska Wildlife Rehab are always happy to help you analyze a situation to see if a baby needs to come into care--so if the need arises, don't hesitate to call us at 402-341-8619. And for more detailed information, more useful tips and interesting reading, please visit our website at www.nebraskawildliferehab.org.

Thanks for all you do!