What to do if you find Wildlife

Have you found injured or "orphaned" wildlife and aren't too sure what to do?  Here are some guidelines to help you, or call 250-573-3242 ext. 230 BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!

Animals the BC Wildlife Park DOES NOT TAKE due to space limitations:
-black bears, cougar, lynx, grizzly bear, wolves, song birds.

Important:

Deer

• Deer leave their young for long periods of time (up to 10-12 hours) while they are off eating.  The young are built to hide from predators, and in the case of deer fawns, don't develop scent until they are several weeks old.
• If you come across a deer fawn on its own, LEAVE IT ALONE, DO NOT TOUCH IT.  Deer are very sensitive to the smell of a predator and will abandon their fawn if it smells like a human.  
• DO NOT PICK UP THE FAWN.  Fawns will play dead when handled.  Their breathing becomes very shallow, they go limp and for all intents and purposes appear dead.  This is their natural reaction to being handled by a predator.
• If you notice a fawn, stay far away from it, but you can keep and eye on it.  Mother deer can see, smell and  hear you, and will not return to their fawn if they sense your presence.
• If no mother returns after observing the fawn for 8 hours, call 250-573-3242 ext. 230.

Birds

• Please note that we DO NOT take songbirds.
• If you find a baby bird that has fallen out of it's nest, see if you can locate the nest.  If you can safely replace the baby bird, do it.  A bird's sense of smell is not as important to them as it is to mammals.  Do not over-handle the bird, but simply return it to it's nest.
• Observe the nest from a distance to see if the parents return.