By Dan Groebner, AZGFD

1. The parents haven’t really abandoned the young animal — they are just waiting nearby for people to leave or things to quiet down.

2. Wildlife parents are the best parents for wildlife. Mother Nature always knows best and won’t abandon her young just because you touched them. Humans are not that good at raising wild babies.

3. Baby wildlife will imprint on humans and lose their fear of people, causing problems for both the animals and humans they encounter in the future. Imprinted animals cannot be released back into the wild.

4. Wildlife gets extremely stressed out when handled by people and can be injured or just die from the extreme anxiety of being handled by humans.

5. They can transmit diseases to people or our pets, and some, like rabies, can be fatal.

6. They can easily get sick and die if they are not fed the proper food or liquids.

7. They bite and claw you

8. They poop on you

9. They poke your eyes out with their long, 

pointed bills.

10. Only trained biologists or veterinarians authorized by the Arizona Game and Fish Department can legally rehabilitate and release to the wild any injured or abandoned wildlife.

So, what should you do if you find what looks like an abandoned young wild animal? The first thing is to look and listen for a stressed-out parent in a nearby nest or burrow. You can quickly replace the young animal without fear of your scent, causing the parent to abandon it.

If you can’t locate where it came from, leave it there and call the Arizona Game and Fish Department for advice at (928) 367-4281 during business hours. After hours, you can call the radio dispatch at

1-800-352-0700.

Depending on the circumstances, you may be asked to place the animal in a location where dogs couldn’t get to it, or assist an officer or biologist in transporting the animal to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, if appropriate.