What's in this issue:
- I Want My Mommy!
- All Things Wild at Rentsch Brewery
- Betelgeuse is a Star
- Test Your Knowledge About Wild Baby Birds
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I WANT MY MOMMY!
Keeping Wild Babies with Their Natural Parents
Reuniting healthy young wild animals with parents should be an obligation, not an option, in nearly all situations. Juveniles raised in the wild by their own parents learn valuable skills such as prey recognition and predator avoidance that are impossible to teach in a rehab setting. Older juveniles also benefit significantly from the protection of parents during the vulnerable period while they are becoming independent.*
Much too often, wild babies are unnecessarily brought to All Things Wild by well-meaning people who think the babies have been orphaned or abandoned. In truth, the babies have been taken away from their parents, and whenever possible, we send them back. Please help All Things Wild keep wild babies with their natural parents.
Here are some tips on keeping wild babies with their wild parents:
Squirrels: Squirrel nests are those big leaf structures high up in trees. Usually, a baby who falls out of the nest is under the tree. The mother will come down to get her baby and carry it by the scruff of the neck back up to the nest. If you find a baby squirrel under a tree and can see a nest in the tree, put the baby on a soft clean towel in a box under the tree and leave the box for a maximum of 4 hours. The mother squirrel will not pick up a cold baby because she thinks it is dead. Warm up cold baby squirrels before putting them outside in the box. The mother squirrel will not come down for her baby if she sees people watching, so go away or hide. If after 4 hours, the mother has not come, take the baby to a wildlife rehabilitator. DO NOT leave the baby outside overnight.
 A squirrel's nest near the top of a tree.
Opossums: Once the baby opossums have left the mother’s pouch, the babies are responsible for clinging to the mother’s fur on her back as she moves along. The mother will stop to forage, and the babies all scamper off her back to practice foraging. When the mother is ready to move on, she makes a noise to signal the babies who are responsible for climbing onto her back. If a young opossum fails to climb on or falls off, he is left behind. The mother does not go back for him. A left-behind baby needs to come to rehabilitation. If a young opossum measures a minimum of 7 inches from nose to butt, excluding the tail, he is on his own and does not need to come to rehabilitation unless injured.
 Young opossums are responsible for hanging on to mom.
Raccoons: If the babies have been captured and the mother has run off, there is a way to get the mother to come back for her babies. In the evening, put the babies in a cardboard box on the ground near where the mother was entering the house. Tuck the flaps of the box as shown below. Tucking in the flaps is important because the mother can rip the box open while the tucked flaps will protect the babies from predators. Leave the box all night. The mother will come during the night to claim her babies and carry them away.
 If you are leaving baby raccoons out overnight for the mother to retrieve, make sure the box flaps are closed.
Cottontails: If the location of the nest is known, the uninjured baby or babies should be returned to the nest. The mother rabbit does not stay with the nest because to do so would attract predators. The mother almost always visits her babies at night to clean and feed them. If there is a problem with your dog, cover the nest during the day while the dog is outside and uncover it when you bring the dog in at night so the mother cottontail can feed her babies. Ideas for a cover are an inverted wheelbarrow, laundry basket with a rock on top, tomato cage, or a heavy flower pot. Just remember that the mother’s milk and care are best for the babies so it is always preferable that they stay in the nest.
 Cottontail babies in the nest.
Songbirds: If the baby bird has no or only a few feathers and cannot sit up or move around, an attempt should be made to return the baby to the nest. If the nest has been destroyed, a substitute nest can be made and hung nearby. Ideas for substitute nests are colanders, strawberry baskets, or anything with holes in the bottom that will drain if it rains. Leaves and grass can be added to the artificial nest.
 This baby is a nestling and needs to go back to the nest.
If the bird has most of its feathers and can move around, it is a fledging and has purposely left the nest and will never return to the nest. The parents are keeping an eye on their youngster on the ground and bringing it food. It is during this time that the young bird is learning to fly, to find food, and to recognize danger. Please leave these birds alone and let the natural parents continue raising their youngster.
 This is a fledgling northern mockingbird. Leave him alone.
White-tailed Deer: Deer mothers do not stay with their babies. To do so would attract predators. Mothers will leave their fawns in the most unusual places and come back several times during the day and night to nurse. When clean and healthy, a young fawn will lie very still and will not be noticed by predators. The mothers can nurse, clean bottoms, and be gone in 5 minutes, so her presence can be easily missed.
If a fawn is lying alone and curled up, it is probably OK. The best way to check if the baby is OK is to lift the tail and make sure the bottom is clean. If there are feces on the baby’s bottom, something has happened to the mother, and the baby needs to come to rehab. If the baby is lying straight out, as opposed to curled up, something is wrong with the baby. If the baby is covered in ants, brush off the ants and move the baby to a safer spot nearby. If the baby is lying in the sun, it’s OK to pick it up and move it into nearby shade.
DO NOT FEED THE BABY. Cow milk will kill the baby. Further, the game warden takes very seriously any attempts to kidnap and raise the fawn and will issue very expensive fines. Kidnapped fawns, imprinted on humans, ALWAYS COME TO A TRAGIC END. Kidnapped fawns need to be turned in to ATW or a permitted wildlife rehabilitator.
If the mother is killed by a car and the young ones are up and running about, they will need to be confined, like in a fenced yard, to be captured and brought to rehabilitation. It is impossible to catch mobile fawns out in the open because they can run a lot faster than you can.
 Healthy deer fawns lie curled up. The mother does not stay with her baby.
And finally, THE TOUCHING THING IS A MYTH! Touching a wild baby will not deter its mother from caring for her baby.
*Anne Miller was, until she retired, the Director of Reunite Wildlife in Birmingham, AL; a national expert on reuniting wild babies, especially birds; and author of the book, Calls of the Wild.
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ALL THINGS WILD AT
RENTSCH BREWERY
Friday, May 20, from 4:30 – 7:30 pm
 Meet Artemis, the barred owl.
ATW will be at Rentsch Brewery in Georgetown on Friday with education animals to teach people about the wonders of wildlife. Rentsch will donate $1 to ATW for every Texas lager sold. Join us for a cold lager and a chance to meet and learn about a wild animal.
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BETELGEUSE IS A STAR
Betelgeuse, the ATW Ambassador Opossum, (pronounced beetle juice) was a little groggy from his early morning snooze when Kim put him in a carrier at 7 am one morning in late March. They were on their way to Dallas where Betelgeuse was scheduled to film a television commercial.
When Betelgeuse and Kim arrived at the movie set in Dallas, the place was buzzing with preparations by the film crew. Power cords, wires, and cameras cluttered the lawn. There was a director, assistant director, film crew, set crew, sound engineers, makeup people, script people, lighting engineers and even a guy to see to the welfare of any animals used in filming. The entire Dallas home on a side street in Highland Park had been taken over by the film crew. A black pickup truck was parked in the driveway with a tree across the hood. The plot was that a tree had fallen during a storm, and when the homeowner came out to survey the damage, he found an opossum in the fallen tree on top of his truck.
 It takes a lot of people to film a TV commercial.
Filming began around 11 am. When it was BG’s turn, they filmed long shots from a distance of him on the log on the truck. After several takes, BG was allowed to take a break while other parts of the commercial were filmed. Kim put a harness on him so he could sniff around on the lawn.
 Betelgeuse enjoys a break from filming.
After a lunch of grapes, kibble, and water (even film-star opossums get catering), it was Betelgeuse’s turn again, but this time for close-ups.
 The film crew is taking close-ups of Betelgeuse on the fallen tree.
Kim worked patiently with Betelgeuse, who, by this time, was getting tired of all the handling. Eventually, after six takes, the Assistant Director asked the Director, “Are we finished with the rodent?” Well, how insulting! Betelgeuse looked at the Assistant Director and replied, indignantly, “I am a MARSUPIAL, not a rodent!”
 Betelgeuse reacts to being called a rodent.
It had been a long, tiring day, when Betelgeuse and Kim headed for the car and the drive back to Georgetown. He was happy to return to his big enclosure at All Things Wild, and All Things Wild will receive a nice payment for BG’s services that will help all the orphaned and injured opossums in rehabilitation.
Betelgeuse is not only a heavenly star in the Orion Constellation but also a TV commercial star. Oh! Did we mention, he has been blind from birth?
To watch the Farm Bureau Insurance commercial starring Betelgeuse, go here.
To read a previous newsletter article, “Running with the Stars,” about Betelgeuse, go here.
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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WILD BABY BIRDS
 Orphaned nestling blue jays in rehabilitation.
- A hatchling is:
a. A bird with lots of feathers
b. A newborn baby bird
c. A bird that has left the nest
- A fledgling is a young bird with most of its feathers that has purposely left the nest and is never going back to the nest:
a. True
b. False
- A barn swallow builds a nest at your front door, what do you do?
a. Tear the nest down and kill the babies
b. Be patient, the babies will be grown and gone soon
c. Move the nest to another location
- You find a dead adult bird near a nest of babies. What do you do?
a. Bring the babies to a wildlife rehabilitator
b. Tear down the nest
c. Both parents care for the babies. If one dies, the other parent continues feeding the babies.
- Which of the following birds do not nest in a cavity, e.g., a hole in a tree?
a. Wrens
b. Northern cardinals
c. Woodpeckers
d. Chickadees
e. Screech owls
- How often are nestling baby birds fed by the parents?
a. Six times over a 24-hour parent
b. Four times a day
c. Every 30 minutes from sunrise to sunset
- You have been watching a nest of baby wrens with feathers for two days and have not seen any parents. The babies are screaming for food. What do you do?
a. The parents have obviously abandoned the babies so bring them to a wildlife rehabilitator.
b. Leave them alone. The parents are purposely staying away from the nest to get the babies to fledge, i.e., leave the nest. The parents are nearby watching the nest.
c. Feed the babies.
- Which of the following birds eat seeds as babies? Choose more than one answer.
a. Blue jays
b. Wrens
c. Doves
d. Mockingbirds
e. Pigeons
f. Finches
- A cat has had a bird in its mouth. What do you do?
a. Wash off the wound and let the bird go.
b. Bring the bird to a wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.
c. Let the cat eat the bird.
- Why should people leave an unharmed fledgling alone? Choose all that apply.
a. The fledgling is learning to fly.
b. The fledgling is learning to recognize danger.
c. The fledgling is learning to find food.
d. The parents are watching over the fledgling.
- What is the baby bird in the picture below?
a. Northern mockingbird
b. Gray catbird
c. White-winged dove
- What is the baby bird in the picture below?
a. Eastern phoebe
b. Barn swallow
c. Northern mockingbird
- What is the baby bird in the picture below?
a. House sparrow
b. Northern mockingbird
c. Carolina wren
- The bird in the picture below is a blue jay:
a. Hatchling
b. Nestling
c. Fledgling
- What are the baby birds in the picture below?
a. Barn swallows
b. Northern cardinals
c. Bewick’s wrens
- Why is it OK for people to touch a baby bird? Choose all that apply.
a. Because the parents will not reject a baby if touched by a human.
b. Because most birds have a poor sense of smell.
c. Because touching the bird will not harm the baby.
- Which of the following birds are fed insects as babies? Choose all that apply:
a. Mockingbirds
b. Blue jays
c. Doves
d. House sparrow
e. House finches
f. Grackles
g. Barn swallows
h. Northern cardinals
- You have found a baby hummingbird but cannot bring it to a wildlife rehabilitator right away. What do you do?
a. Leave the baby alone and don’t touch it.
b. Put the baby outside in the grass.
c. Feed the baby sugar water (4 parts of water to 1 part of sugar) with a syringe or eye dropper every 30 minutes.
- You have found a baby nestling bird with only a few feathers on the ground under a nest. What is the FIRST THING you should do?
a. Pick up the baby and try to get it back into the nest.
b. Put the baby in a box with a soft towel and bring it to a wildlife rehabilitator.
c. Leave it there. The parents will retrieve it.
- Most baby birds are fed and cared for by:
a. The mother only
b. The father only
c. Both the mother and the father
- A dog has had a baby fledgling in its mouth and the bird parents are nearby. You pick up the baby and find that it is unharmed. What do you do?
a. Put the dog in the house and let the baby go.
b. Bring the baby to a wildlife rehabilitator.
c. Let the dog play with the baby.
- Why is it so harmful for a cat to have a baby bird in its mouth?
a. Cat saliva contains bacteria that will kill a small animal unless treated with antibiotics.
b. The parents will reject the baby.
c. The cat won’t harm the baby.
- When does a fledgling bird return to the nest?
a. When the fledgling begins to fly, it goes back to the nest.
b. The fledgling has fallen out of the nest and should be put back in the nest.
c. The fledgling has left the nest and will never return to the nest.
- Why is it best for the natural parents to raise their baby? Choose all that apply:
a. Because the natural parents can teach their baby life survival skills, like where to find food and how to recognize danger and avoid predators
b. People cannot teach the baby life survival skills if it is raised in a cage.
c. It’s not important for the natural parents to raise the baby.
- A nest of babies is destroyed. What do you do?
a. Nothing, leave the babies on the ground. The parents will pick up their babies.
b. Take the babies to a wildlife rehabilitator.
c. Make a substitute nest, put the babies in it, and place it as close as possible to the original nest location.
If you have questions or need help,
call All Things Wild 512-897-0806.
ANSWERS:
1. b
2. a
3. b
4. c
5. b
6. c
7. b
8. c, e, f
9. b
10. a, b, c, d
11. c
12. c
13. a
14. c
15. a
16. a, b, c
17. a, b, d, f, g, h
18. c
19. a
20. c
21. a
22. a
23. c
24. a, b
25. c
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