Outdoor Living and Recreation
Ask Ranger Rick
By
Aug 13, 2005, 14:27

(NAPSI)-Ever wonder what to do when you see wildlife looking like it's in trouble? Do you leave it alone and let nature take its course, or pitch in to help? The National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Ranger RickŪ magazine provides some answers.

You see a baby bird hoping along the ground. When it tries to fly, it can only flutter. What should you do? Sometimes a very young and helpless bird falls out of its nest and doesn't know what to do. If you can reach the nest, you can put the baby back into it with no harm to the bird. Despite popular belief, parent birds will not reject a baby that has been touched by humans, and you've saved the baby bird from being harmed by predators.

While riding in a car, you see a turtle crawling across the road. What should you do? Turtles often have to cross roads to get to where they can find food, mates, or places to lay eggs. If you see a turtle on the road, it's ok to stop and try to help it across. Check to make sure it's safe, then quickly pick up the turtle and carry it to the side it was heading toward.

While walking in the woods, you see a fawn lying on the forest floor. The mother deer is nowhere in sight. What should you do? Like many other animals, a mother deer will leave her baby in a protected area while she goes off to find food. So it's perfectly natural to find a fawn lying by itself. Don't worry, its spotted coat helps it blend in with the forest floor which keeps it safe from predators.

To learn more about helping to protect wildlife check out NWF's Web site at www.nwf.org.

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