Note to Rescuers: 'Helpless' Wild Animals Don't Need Your Help

When Yellowstone rangers were forced to euthanize a newborn bison calf recently, they put the blame for the death squarely on the "misplaced concern" of humans. Two international tourists found the calf seemingly isolated, so they put it in the back of their SUV and loaded it off to a ranger station.

"In this case, park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd. These efforts failed," park spokesperson Morgan Warthin said in a statement. "The bison calf was later euthanized because it was abandoned and causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway."

It would be a blessing to blame this epidemic entirely on clueless foreign tourists, but it appears that Americans are constantly stepping in to save helpless animals that really don't need their help at all, thank you very much.

Just Don't Step Up

In Fairfax, Va., so many calls have come in regarding baby wildlife — calls for wildlife that doesn't need assistance — that animal control has sent residents a detailed list of exactly when it's time to panic.

The primary reason isn't so officers can avoid picking up the phone at Animal Control. It's a pointed reminder to leave wildlife alone.

"While these actions are well-intended, it is important to realize that they may be unnecessary and can be detrimental to the wildlife concerned," notes an Animal Control statement. "Survival rates of rehabilitated animals are often low and many do not survive their first year upon release back into the wild. A young animal’s best chance for survival is to receive natural care from its parents and remain wild."

"Rescues" in suburban Virginia tend to include squirrels, red foxes, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, opossums, and songbirds. Oh, and those poor baby deer. So many baby deer.

The Fawns are Fine — Really

This time of year white-tailed fawns are seen and often thought to have been abandoned, leading to rescuers actually perpetrating a "fawn-napping."

The mother deer will leave their fawn for extended periods while she forages in hopes of keeping predators away from the small animal. Don't worry, says officials, mom will return several times a day.

There are actually very few reasons to step in and disturb a fawn, short of seeing a dead doe beside it.

And your intervention — even just touching the small deer — could have fatal results, according to Roanoke (Va.) Wildlife Rescue's Dee Dee Hartson.

"Fawns don't have scents, and that keeps the predators away," Hartson told ABC News. "Once you start touching it, you're putting your scent on it, which can attract other predators."

More at Patch:

• Please Don't Help My Kids

The Birds and the Manatees

It's not just the animals of Snow White's forest that are getting an unwanted hand from humans. In Florida, manatees are valued just one step below angels from heaven. And wildlife conservationists are spending their June educating good-meaning people that a herd of these gentle giants flipping and splashing around in the water isn't a cause for alarm: It's mating season.

Manatees can technically mate year-round, but they become extra amorous during the spring, summer and early fall months. The rise in interest for the opposite sex can, it seems, create quite a commotion in the water.

“When manatees are observed in mating herds, there is a lot of splashing and slapping of their tails along with constant movement by the animals,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “This behavior can sometimes be misconstrued by the public as the manatees being in distress.”

This, officials say, can lead to potentially dangerous interventions.

“There have been circumstances where the public has intervened with mating herds, thinking they are doing the right thing,” the FWC tells Patch. “However, we caution people to stay clear of mating herds for both human and animal safety.”

That's because manatees can weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds, which means that during mating, people who get in their way could be inadvertently injured by manatees who are simply “moving around or slapping their tails.”

Signs a Wild Animal Actually Needs Help

• Shows signs of flies, worms or maggots, which look like grains of rice
• Was caught by a cat or dog
• Is bleeding or shows signs of trauma, such as swelling
• If the parents are known to be dead
• Is very cold, thin or weak or
• Is on the ground unable to move
• Is not fully furred or feathered

Includes reporting by Sherri Lonon

Photo by Tom Stehn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife