Ask a Conservation Officer

[Lee Borgersen]

  Ask a Conservation Officer!

Q: What should I do if I find an very young or injured animal that appears to be abandoned?

A: Good question, especially this time of year. First of all, if you find a baby animal, especially a deer fawn, leave it alone. Each year, conservation officers deal with multiple calls from well-intentioned but poorly educated people who have found a fawn in the weeds all alone, thinking it is abandoned, and bring it home. Mother deer are very good at hiding their babies from predators, and "parking" them in an out-of-the-way spot while the mother goes to feed is one of those defensive behaviors. Once you remove a fawn from that location, you greatly increase the chance that it will not be reunited with its mother and may be destined for captivity or worse.


If you find an animal that is injured or appears in distress, first try contacting personnel with the DNR's Wildlife Division, and obtain other information here: dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/rehabilitation/injured-orphaned-wildlife.html. You can also try contacting a local wildlife rehabilitation organization whose information may be found online. It is unsafe and illegal for an unpermitted person to try to take in or care for the animal themselves. Many times, letting nature take its course is the best bet for the animal and the ecosystem. Wild animals are tough; most will survive.