Finally, nice weather that everybody can stay outside in and enjoy! It’s the time of year for working in the yard, hiking, and just enjoying the outdoor weather. This is also the time of year when people come in contact most with wild babies who may or may not need our help.

As a wildlife rehabilitator, I don’t spend most of my time working in my garden or walking on the trails; I am carrying my cell phone and answering calls about “orphaned baby wildlife.”

In fact, for the next several months, I will not see the outside except when I am transporting animals. Spring is a rehabilitator’s busiest time of year, not just in taking care of animals who truly are in need, but in educating the public on animals that well-meaning people thought were in need, but really were doing what they are naturally programmed to do.

So, how do you know if a baby wild animal is really in need of human intervention?

If you find a bird or a squirrel that has little to no feathers or fur, and is not in its nest, you can assume it needs help. Before taking this animal in, try to find the nest and replace the baby. Mother birds and squirrels cannot pick up their babies and take them back themselves, so in this instance they do need your assistance. Understand that, when parents are teaching fledglings how to fly, they often appear to be babies thrown from nests. However, they actually have parents nearby who are keeping a close eye on them and teaching them the skills they need to survive in the wild.

If you come upon a fawn lying down with its head over its back, looking very much like Bambi, that fawn is probably fine. If you come upon a fawn who is lying on its side, with its head and legs stretched away from its body, it needs help. If the fawn is crying for a long period of time, it needs help.

Deer feed their young only a few times a day. Fawns know to stay still and quiet while waiting for mom to return, so a fawn who is crying has been without mom for too long. Healthy, very young fawns often will not move if you approach them, as this would lure a predator to chase and kill them.

If a cat or dog has gotten a hold of a baby and you do not know where the nest is, or the animal has obvious injuries, that baby needs help. If, however, the baby is uninjured and you can find the nest, place it into the nest and move the dog or cat inside or to an area where it cannot go back to retrieve the baby.

Understand that very rarely will a mother come back to their young with you watching. While you may not be able to see or hear them, they can most likely, see, hear or smell you — even if you are watching through a window — and will know to stay away, as humans are predators.

When in doubt, always call a wildlife rehabilitator, who can help you to determine if the young one is really in need or if this is simply a case of a baby waiting for its mother to return.

So, what do you do if you do find a baby that is in need? Place the baby in a warm, dry place, away from pets and children and contact a wildlife rehabilitator as quickly as possible. Do not give the baby anything to eat or drink. Most wildlife have very special dietary needs, and you could further compromise their situation unintentionally.

Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed by the state and often federal government and trained to know the needs of the individual species that they care for and can give the appropriate nutrients. Understand that it is illegal to possess native wildlife, even if you are just trying to help them, although you are allowed to get them out of harm’s way and keep them long enough to find a licensed person to care for them.

How do you find a wildlife rehabilitator? One way is to go to the CLAWS, Inc., Web site at www.nc-claws.org. We have links to most rehabilitation lists in our area, as well as across the country.

If you do not have access to the internet, call us at (919) 619-0776 or the Nongame Wildlife Office at (919) 707-0060 or Wildlife Enforcement Communications (919) 662-4381 to obtain the name and telephone number of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in your area.

Kindra Mammone is the executive director of CLAWS a rehabilitation, exotic animal rescue and educational facility in Orange County.