Despite how vulnerable they may seem, residents are being strongly encouraged to walk away from any abandoned animals they may encounter this summer.
During the warmer months, conservation officers receive frequent calls about orphaned animals encountered by people out and about in Estevan. Some of those animals are baby ducks, goslings or calf moose. At times, young owls and baby hawks are also found. Conservation officer Ryan Krienke stressed the importance of leaving these animals alone when found.
"People see these animals alone and do have good intentions," he said. "They think they've been abandoned and they want to pick them up and care for them, but you can't do that. We try to steer people away and ask them to leave them alone."
If someone does pick up an abandoned animal, the consequences can be highly negative. In most cases, the parent animal will disown it, said Krienke. In instances where an animal appears to be abandoned, the reality is that the parent is out gathering food, protecting its young from predators, or has been frightened away by people. It's almost guaranteed that the parent will return once its task is complete.
"Often times, mom or dad may be watching you," said Krienke. "We've found that the public tends to want to help more," he added, when asked about any visible trends or patterns when it comes to these scenarios. However, wild animals are frequently found inside the city.
"We have habitats right in our city. It's not uncommon to find animals within city limits and outside of the city as well," Krienke explained.
He also noted that the only time an animal should be approached is if there is evidence of the parent being dead, in which case a person nearby could pick the animal up and carry it to safety upon notifying the conservation authorities.
"There are actually a couple of licensed facilitators in the province, and those animals that have been picked up for the right reasons go to these facilitators where they are properly taken care of and fed, and then re-released into the wild."
Krienke suggested they get about 10 to 20 calls per year, but stressed that these scenarios likely occur more frequently, and that many supposedly abandoned animals aren't being reported.
A press release from the Ministry of Environment highlighted the dangers of trying to raise an abandoned animal. The high cost of providing the animal with a specialized diet and constant care is one of the factors, but the dangers of releasing the animal into the wild after being raised by a human were also advertised.
"Because humans have raised the animal, it often won't know how to find food and can easily starve to death on its own. It also won't be afraid of humans or predators, making it an easy target," the release stated.
