Alright y’all, spring has sprung and it’s baby season! This is a PSA for anyone who finds themselves with a baby creature that has fallen out of its nest or is injured. I work with a licensed wildlife rehabber, and I see the results of improper care every day, and have to put down babies myself that were too weak and malnourished to survive because someone thought they could “save” them

DONT

TAKE

CARE

OF

THEM

YOURSELF!!!!!!

Baby birds require extreme and scientific attention for them to live, and they will die if you don’t know how to take care of them properly, which, for the record, the average person cannot do. You need to take any baby bird you find to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator if you want them to survive. Baby mammals (squirrels, skunks, rabbits, etc) are even more difficult to care for and they risk deformation and abnormal development if they aren’t taken care of by someone who knows what they’re doing.

DONT

KEEM

THEM

AS

PETS!!!!!!

Wild animals are not, should not, and will never be good pets! I don’t care if you know a guy who has pet squirrels or a pet raccoon, they are wild heckin animals that will not thrive in captivity! It is cruel to keep them behind bars when they are built to live in the wild. If you want a cute, niche, exotic pet, do some extensive research and buy yourself a snake or a sugar glider!

YOU

ARE

NOT

PROPERLY

EQUIPPED!!!!!!

Taking care of wild animals requires an extensive amount of tools, equipment, and hard-to-procure instruments. I have like three drawers filled with special tools that I can’t do my job without, including special feeding syringes, surgical tools, attachments for syringes, special heating pads, and a lot more that the average person doesn’t have access to.

LEARN

THE

DIFFERENCE!!!!

Not all baby animals need rescuing! If you find a baby bird that is fully feathered, walking around, and basically look like a tiny adult, leave them alone!!! Chances are their parent is close by and they’re learning to live on their own. Same goes for baby mammals. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to put any kind of effort into catching them or keeping them contained, they’re probably just fine and you should leave them alone. Not to mention the risk of the parent of a baby mammal possibly rejecting the baby if it comes into contact with humans.

A TIDBIT: IT IS ILLEGAL TO KEEP AND RAISE WILD ANIMALS IF YOU DONT HAVE A PERMIT AND LICENSE FOR IT.

This law is in place because the average human is physically incapable of properly rehabilitating a wild animal, and the wild animal in question will have its life endangered by well meaning people who try to “save” them.

TL;DR - You are not properly equipped to care for orphaned or injured wildlife, and you need to take any wild animal you find to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator if you care at all for that creature’s welfare.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.