Wildlife

What to do with orphaned wild animals.

If you’re worried about a baby animal because it seems to be alone, don’t touch them but watch from a distance to check they’re orphaned first. We receive many calls about young animals from people who think they are orphaned but it’s likely that the parents are nearby, waiting for people to leave.

Baby bats

Adult bats can be mistaken for babies because people don’t realise how small they can be!

If you suspect that you’ve found a baby bat, call our Bandon Office, who can put you in touch with your local bat carer. Treat baby bats very carefully – if you have to pick it up, handle with gloves, or use a soft towel.

Remember where you found the bat as it may be possible to return to its mother.

Deer or hare

Fawns and leverets (baby hares) are normally left alone from an early age for long periods of time. Their mother will return to feed them though, usually around dusk.

Watch from a distance to see if its mother returns. If not please contact us.

Otters

Watch from a distance, ideally for 24 hours (at least overnight), to see if the parents return. If not please contact us.

Rabbits

A mother rabbit closes her kittens into a burrow, returning to nurse about once a day. Kittens will start to emerge from the burrow at about 18 days when they will look like miniature adults.

If they’re found above ground with their eyes closed then something has dug them out of the burrow – in which case they’ll be too young to survive. These rabbits will need rescuing and taking to a wildlife rehabilitator.

Birds

If you encounter a baby bird out in the open, moving it to a safer location with some cover may help its chances. If the chick is very young (with few or no feathers) and you know where the nest is, the best thing to do is to pop the chick back in and let the parents continue to care for it.