Does this infant mammal need help?

Spring in Wisconsin means baby animals! Some will need help, whether they take a tumble from a tree or are discovered by a lawnmower or curious dog. But others will be just fine and should be left alone.

For many species, it’s normal for mothers and babies to be separated for varying periods of time, and usually mom is a short distance away and will return periodically to care for her babies.

Yes, I need help!

Some infant mammals need immediate care. If you find a baby animal who is...

  • alone
  • injured
  • bleeding
  • infested with parasites like fleas, flies/fly eggs (which look like tiny grains of rice), maggots, mites, or ticks
  • cold, limp, or unresponsive
  • crying out
  • approaching people
  • the victim of a dog, cat, or other predator attack (even if no skin is broken)
  • with or near a deceased adult

...do the following right away:

  1. Put the animal in a box in a safe, warm, dark, quiet location. Do NOT offer water, milk, formula, food, or anything else to eat or drink. Doing so can have deadly consequences.
  2. Take a photo and/or video of the animal to share with us.
  3. Call us for guidance.
depressed lethargic dehydrated infant gray squirrel

Can I be reunited with my mother?

Depending on the species, if the baby is alone but otherwise healthy and uninjured, and you don’t have reason to believe the mother has been killed, it’s a good possibility that the baby can be reunited with her. This is often the case for squirrels, raccoons, and bunnies. A healthy baby animal’s best chance is with mom. Please see: 

How to renest baby bunnies
How to reunite baby squirrels
How to reunite baby raccoons
a passel of several infant opossums on soft blue fleece

I'm in trouble and probably can't be reunited with my mother.

Baby opossums

Opossums are Wisconsin’s only native marsupial. Baby opossums, called joeys, are the size of a bumble bee when they’re born, and spend the first several months in mom’s pouch. Once they emerge, they climb onto her back and cling to her fur as she moves around. 

If you find a joey and mom is nowhere to be seen, this baby needs immediate intervention. If you see one, always look for others as opossums can have up to 13 joeys in a passel. Where one is left behind, others may be scattered, so step carefully and listen closely. Joeys make a small chirping noise when searching for mom. If you find any, do the following right away:

  1. Put the animal in a box in a safe, warm, dark, quiet location. Do NOT offer water, milk, formula, food, or anything else to eat or drink. Doing so can have deadly consequences.
  2. Take a photo and/or video of the animal to share with us.
  3. Call us for guidance.

Burrowing and tunneling species

For burrowing or tunneling species like chipmunks, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, mice, muskrats, or woodchucks, babies stay underground unless the mother does not return to feed them.

Babies of burrowing and tunneling species found above ground need help. Do the following right away:

  1. Put the animal in a box in a safe, warm, dark, quiet location. Do NOT offer water, milk, formula, food, or anything else to eat or drink. Doing so can have deadly consequences.
  2. Take a photo and/or video of the animal to share with us.
  3. Call us for guidance.
burrowing and tunneling rodents