It is not unusual to find abandoned baby animals, but it is very rare that the mother leaves her baby. And taking home a wild animal in need can be a crime.
– They can be abandoned, but often they are not, says Linda Törngren, animal manager at Skansen.
Caring for a wild animal is, in the name of the law, the same thing as hunting. So if you keep a wild animal trapped without a permit, you can be convicted of breaking the Hunting Act.
Regardless of whether the animal is a lonely cub that has difficulty surviving on its own.
– Many people think that if you don’t see a mother near the child, it is abandoned, but that is rarely the case. Harpalts and deer skis lie and press for the first time. So the mother is not with them, but they come and give them to you once or twice a day. They can lie quite openly, says Linda Törngren, animal manager at Skansen.
You should do that
If you find a cub that looks abandoned, leave it and wait. Then Linda Törngren recommends that you wait a day. If the mother still hasn’t visited the kid, it’s time to act.
– Then you should contact a wildlife rehabilitator for advice before taking the animal home. But as a private person, you may not take care of wild animals for longer than 48 hours. That time is for finding a wildlife rehabilitator who can take over.
Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed to care for wild animals and do the work entirely on a voluntary basis.
If the chick has fallen out of the nest, it must be put back. And if the cub is in a vulnerable position, it’s okay to move it, to a bush for example, and the mother will take over when she returns.
The reason for the strict rules is the well-being of the animals.
– It is to protect the animals. It requires knowledge of how to handle them correctly and give them the right food, says Linda Törngren.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s short advice on baby animals
Leave baby animals alone. A lonely child is very rarely orphaned or abandoned. The female is probably nearby, even if you don’t see her.
If the children bring a found baby animal, ask them to show where they found the baby and then put it back out there as soon as possible.
If you find an animal at the side of the road, for example, you can move it to a safer place nearby.
The female does not care that the cub smells human. She takes care of it anyway.
You can contact the police or wildlife rehabilitator if you are sure that the parents are dead and the cub is truly abandoned – do not take care of the cub yourself.
Source: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency