{"id":2275,"date":"2013-07-06T05:21:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-06T05:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.sdps-bbs.com\/?p=2275"},"modified":"2026-01-24T15:55:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:55:36","slug":"orphaned-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/orphaned-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Orphaned Wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ExternalClassFA0FD3075407484DB52BAB635F2A670F\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignright\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px;margin-left: 5px;margin-top: 5px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/fawn.jpg\" alt=\"Fawn, blog post Orphaned Wildlife.\" align=\"right\" \/>This time of year, sightings of white-tailed deer fawns,\u00a0fledgling birds and other young critters becomes common. \u200bIn most cases, the young animal is simply &#8220;spreading its wings&#8221; and exploring, or mom simply left it to get something to eat. Fawn deer are programmed to hide and remain motionless while mom is away.\u00a0The fact is wildlife rarely abandons their young. They may leave briefly only to return.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that you should never handle wild animals unless absolutely necessary. Any animal can bite you, and many harbor diseases and pests that can be transmitted to people.<\/p>\n<p>In Indiana, wildlife rehabilitators have necessary state and federal permits to house and care for sick or injured wild animals. If you think you have found a sick or injured animal, you can find a\u00a0list of licensed Wild Animal Rehabilitators in your area\u00a0on\u00a0the <a title=\"DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife's\" href=\"http:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fishwild\/5492.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife&#8217;s<\/a> website.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fishwild\/files\/fw-Mammals_Of_Indiana.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mammals of Indiana<\/a>, J.O. Whitker and R.E. Mumford<br \/>\n<a title=\"Common Indiana Mammals, FNR-413-W\" href=\"https:\/\/mdc.itap.purdue.edu\/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-413-W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Common Indiana Mammals<\/a>, R.N.\u00a0Chapman\u00a0and R.N. Williams, publication number FNR-413-W<br \/>\n<a title=\"Indiana DNR Orphaned and Injured Animals\" href=\"http:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fishwild\/5492.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indiana DNR Orphaned and Injured Animals<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/JXo8ExLIza8?si=y4UA6zLWnziE-nap\">Wildlife Habitat Hint: Tips for Evaluating a First Year Native Grass and Forb Plantings<\/a>, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1E0tPlRgnec\">Drone Seeding Native Grasses and Forbs: Project Overview &amp; Drone Setup<\/a>, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-213-w.html\">Designing Hardwood Tree Plantings for Wildlife<\/a> \u2013 The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-480-w.html\">Forest Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-617-w.html\">A Template for Your Wildlife Habitat Management Plan<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-596-w.html\">Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLgoGnq-fak7XgiEFkpuQNAFa0rM4elCis\">Woodland Stewardship for Landowners<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube channel<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-417-w.html\">Nature of Teaching Unit 1: Animal Diversity and Tracking<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@purduefnrextension\/\">Subscribe Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/a>, Playlists include wildlife, Nature of Teaching, Moments in the Wild and much more.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Brian MacGowan web page\" href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/contact-us\/directory\/brian-j-macgowan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brian MacGowan<\/a>, Extension Wildlife Specialist\u200b<br \/>\nDepartment of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This time of year, sightings of white-tailed deer fawns,\u00a0fledgling birds and other young critters becomes common. \u200bIn most cases, the young animal is simply &#8220;spreading its wings&#8221; and exploring, or mom simply left it to get something to eat. Fawn deer are programmed to hide and remain motionless while mom is away.\u00a0The fact is wildlife [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,54],"tags":[62,72],"class_list":["post-2275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gotnatureforkids","category-wildlife","tag-got-nature-for-kids","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2275"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35291,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275\/revisions\/35291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}