Posted by Jenny Settle on September 9, 2007

Q: I recently read a great answer to a question someone else posed, but I cannot find it again. Someone had asked about raising an orphaned critter (probably a bird), and the reply mentioned all of the things that should be done before making that decision (leave it alone b/c the parents are probably feeding it from that location, make a determined effort to find the nest, put it in a safer location such as a bush, etc. Then the reply acknowledged that sometimes it just really is an orphan and will die if left alone. There was info about how to raise it in that case and then some "case study" examples of why it is so hard to raise orphaned wildlife. One of the examples was a beaver that was given antibiotics by a vet and then died a slow death b/c the antibiotics wiped out the bacteria its system needed for digestion, and its diet in captivity didn't include the wood that would have replaced the bacteria. Can you direct me back to that answer? I don't remember what the question was, and I think your site might search for keywords in the questions but not the answers.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Indiana

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Wow, you've got a good memory - even I had trouble finding this info, and I wrote it!!! You can find the material at: www.enaturalist.org

Thanks so much for using our online resource and I hope you'll continue to do so.

My best to you,

John

John Wiessinger ( September 9, 2007)