Spring is just around the corner. This past week our baby nurseries have started to fill with baby eastern fox squirrels, rabbits, opossums, and ducks. All of the babies are being lovingly tended to by our dedicated volunteers. Please remind family, friends, and co-workers to keep an eye out for fallen babies this spring as they start doing yard work. Many tree trimmers do not know that squirrel nests are in the tree until they destroy the nest. Baby rabbits are frequently found by gardening and lawn care companies. 
This is also the time of year that mother opossums with pouches full of babies begin to move and are hit by cars in the road. The wildlife center receives hundreds of babies each spring when mothers are killed but the babies are still alive. If baby squirrels are found and cannot be put back in the nest, one can either leave them at the base of the tree or place them in a hanging basket (seen in the picture to the right) in a nearby tree for an hour or so to see if mom comes to pick them up.
Unlike mother squirrels, mother birds cannot pick up their babies and move them once they have fallen out of their nest. If a baby bird is found they can be placed back in their nest or they can also be placed in a hanging basket nearby. The birds’ parents will continue to feed them even in the basket. Wild mothers will NOT reject their babies if a human has touched them; this is a myth and reuniting mother and baby is always the best option.
However, if they are not taken by the mom, place them in a box with soft rags and/or a warm rice sock (seen to the left) and bring them to the wildlife center. All of the orphaned babies are raised at the center and then released back into the wild when they are ready. For more information about The Wildlife Center of Texas please go to our website at www.wildlifecenteroftexas.org
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