TOP MYTHS: If you find a fawn alone in the woods, she has been
orphaned.

True or false?

We provide a list today of the Most Popular Wildlife Myths
provided by The Humane Society of the United States.

And, this myth is false.

The Humane Society notes: “It is actually very common to see
fawns alone because the mother will ‘park’ her babies somewhere and
only visit two to three times a day. This helps avoid attracting
predators. Until the fawn is four weeks old, you will rarely see
her with mother. Instead, she relies on camouflage and lying still
for protection during this vulnerable period.”

To a certain extent, all of us believe some of these myths.
Let’s see how well you do today and tomorrow.

Feeding bread to geese and ducks is okay.

Fact: Bread is bad for all birds because it offers little
nutritional value. Severe health problems, including a debilitating
condition called “Angel Wing” can be caused by bread diets. Feeding
can also lead to dependency in ducklings and goslings who fail to
learn how to find native foods on their own. Some birds can even
become aggressive about being fed – leading to a tragic outcome if
humans decide to remove them.

If you touch a baby bird, the parents will abandon him.

Fact: Birds have a limited sense of smell, but are strongly
bonded to their chicks. Parents will not abandon chicks handled by
humans. The best thing humans can do if a baby bird falls from its
nest, and is not well feathered and clearly learning how to fly, is
to put him back in it. Watch carefully: The parents will return to
feed him.

If you see a raccoon during the day, he must be rabid.

Fact: Raccoons are opportunistic and will appear whenever food
is around. Although normally nocturnal, it is not uncommon to see
them during the day when pet food is outside, especially in spring
and summer when mom raccoons need more energy to nurse their cubs.
However, if the animal is acting disoriented or sick, such as
circling, staggering or screeching – in addition to being seen by
day – contact a local animal control officer.

More myth-busting tomorrow…