Monday, March 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Not only is it not nice to fool with Mother Nature, it could be dangerous for people to pick up baby animals and baby birds at this time of year.
Hundreds of young animals and birds are mistakenly removed from the wild each year by people who think the helpless creatures might be orphaned or abandoned and need human help, said Mike Cox, supervising game biologist for the Nevada Division of Wildlife.
Often the animal's parents are close by and removing animals or birds can turn a natural situation into a problem, Cox said.
"I would rather that people were more concerned than apathetic, but too much interference with some aspects of Mother Nature can yield negative rather than positive results," Cox said.
In the spring, when many wild animals and birds bear and rear their young, it is common for their parents to leave them unattended and go about their daily routine. With camouflage coloring and other built-in safety features, baby animals are well prepared to survive periodic separations from their parents, Cox said.
Some people try to help wild animals by making pets out of them, but Cox said such efforts are usually unsuccessful and never good for the animal. Once they lose their fear of humans, wild animals often become nuisances or even dangerous.
Despite good intentions, would-be rescuers often condemn wild animals to a life of captivity and even early death. "We need to understand that many animals and birds born each year will not survive very long," Cox said. "That is nature's way of balancing her books."
Most species produce far more young than the available habitat can support, Cox explained. Water, food, cover and space determine and limit animal populations.
What should you do if you see a baby animal or bird alone?
"The best thing to do is walk away and leave them alone," he said.
"If an animal is in immediate danger from automobiles or other hazards, simply move it out of harm's way and leave. Mother Nature is better prepared to take care of her young than any of us are."
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