The fate of several ducklings is now uncertain after a passerby spotted them walking alone and picked them up in Homer Friday morning.
The individual saw them crossing the road near Two Sisters Bakery, scooped them up and brought them to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Center.
Steve Delehantyis the manager of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. He says their policy on handling wildlife is clear:
“It’s very easy. Leave it alone. That’s really the bottom line because as soon as you pick it up or handle it, it’s often a death sentence for the animal.”
Many non-domesticated animals will imprint on humans if they are handled, preventing them from being safely reintroduced into the wild. In the case of baby animals, sometimes adults will reject their offspring if they’ve come into contact with humans.
“It’s the season for wildlife babies and it’s just almost always best to let nature take its course," he says. "Unless you are looking and seeing that the adult is dead on site, the best thing to do is move away from the site, give the wild animal some space.”
If there is an obviously dead adult with offspring, its best to call trained professionals like wildlife troopers or an animal welfare group to respond.
Also, Delehanty says, just because a baby animal looks like it’s alone, doesn’t mean it’s been abandoned by its parents.
“For some other species like otters or things, the mom has to go and feed once in a while. So, she might leave the animal for a short period of time but she will come back," he says. "It’s very common in the case of ducks, for example, for the hen, after a period of a half hour or so, to come back to the site, look for her brood, and take them away.”
Wild animals can also carry diseases, making it unsafe to handle them unless you are trained to do so.
As of midday Friday, the ducks had been taken to the Wagon Wheel feed store where they can be looked after until a permanent home can be found.
Human interference with wildlife has been in the news on a national scale in recent weeks. Travelers in Yellowstone National Park picked up a bison calf and put it in their car as they were worried it was cold. The park later had to kill the calf as it had imprinted on people and vehicles and couldn’t be safely reintroduced to the herd.