NEWPORT NEWS — The city recently released a statement: Leave the local wildlife alone.
Here’s a little more information about that:
Andy Lunsford, the city’s park operations superintendent, said the best thing to do when encountering wildlife in residential areas is to leave them alone.
He said a lot of times residents will see an animal walking around during the day and assume the animal shouldn’t be there or the animal is rabid.
Lunsford said it is “baby season” right now so there are a lot of fledgling birds, fawns, baby rabbits, baby squirrels and many more baby animals around.
The only time a resident would need to call animal control is if the animal appears injured in some way, Lunsford said.
If you happen to see a baby bird without its feathers, it is safe to assist that baby bird back to its nest, he said. If the bird is covered in feathers. It is fine to roam around on its own.
Adult animals will sometimes leave their offspring during the day to hunt and forage for food so it isn’t uncommon to see a baby animal on its own, Lunsford said.
He also recommends calling the Newport News Park Discovery Center to find out about the education resources they have as well as get advice on how to deal with animals that may be a nuisance.
For example, Lunsford said that if a raccoon seems to be hanging out around your home when you feed your animals at night, you may want to take your animal food inside.
He encourages residents to call if they have any questions or concerns about the wildlife around where they live.
Visit Newport News Discovery Center to learn more.
If you have a situation that requires Animal Control, dial 311.
