Mammals - Racoon/Skunk/Fox/Opossum Mammals - Deer/Fawn/Rabbit/Other Birds    Wildlife in Crisis, Inc. P.O. Box 1246 Weston, CT 06883 (203) 544-9913 wildlifeincrisis@snet.net Woodchucks/rabbits are eating my vegetable garden... There is a wild animal struggling in the road that has been hit by a car... Will coyotes eat my cat? My cat caught a baby rabbit or my lawn mower disturbed a nest of baby rabbits... Moles are creating above ground tunnels in my yard... Are all bats rabid? There is a fawn in my yard, is it an orphan? There is a deer in my yard with an arrow sticking out of it... There is a deer in my yard who is limping... How do I ensure my land will remain unspoiled? Woodchucks/rabbits are eating my vegetable garden... Build a welded wire (hardware cloth) fence with a 6 inch lip on the outside dug into the ground 6 inches to prevent animals from digging in. Plant marigolds around perimeter. back to top... There is a wild animal struggling in the road that has been hit by a car... If it is spring/summer check for babies beside the road if it is a lactating female. Opossums: turn over with a stick to see if babies are in pouch. Opossum (marsupial) babies are born as embryos and stay in mothers pouch for a full 4 months. Adult deer who cannot get up on their own-call police to euthanize. Keep pet carrier, heavy gloves and towel in car for unforeseen emergencies. Call WIC for help. back to top... Will coyotes eat my cat? Keep your cats inside!!! Owls, large hawks, neighborhood dogs and cars are often the cause of cats 'disappearing'. Don't leave pet food outside. If you must feed cats outside feed at the same time each day and remove the food when the cat is finished eating. Coyotes mostly feed on rodents, they are our only true predator in CT, they also will eat deer. Fellow carnivores are not their first choice for a meal. back to top... My cat caught a baby rabbit or my lawn mower disturbed a nest of baby rabbits... Cats have bacteria laden saliva that quickly kills baby rabbits. If the nest is destroyed put on gloves and rebuild it, put an "X" of string or yarn and return the next day to see if it has been moved, if not call WIC. Rabbits only feed their young 2 times a day, babies leave nest at 3 weeks old, when they're about 6 inches long. back to top... Moles are creating above ground tunnels in my yard... If you can't tolerate the tunnels: Wet your lawn and apply Mole-Med available at hardware and garden supply stores. Or through Garden's Alive catalog (812) 537-8650. Unlike mice, moles do not live or breed in our homes. They will leave as they entered. back to top... Are all bats rabid? Less than 1% of bats have rabies. Silver haired bats, little and big brown bats and red bats live in Connecticut. Little and big brown bat are metropolitans (live together, emerge separately-unlike commuters who emerge all at once). Red bats are isolationists (live alone and have up to 4 babies). Bats are not rodents, they belong to the order Chiroptera - only mammals capable of flight. May through August is not a good time to try and evict bat colonies, this is the time of year that there will be helpless young who are dependent on their mothers for constant care. Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas is the best resource for bats 512-327-9721. Or, Jenny Dickson, DEP 860-675-8130. For injured or orphaned bats call WIC. One little brown bat will eat upwards of 600 mosquitoes in one hour. Bats use sonar/echo-location to fly and find prey. Emit high frequency sounds reflected off objects and back to bat. So acute they can discern a human hair. back to top... There is a fawn in my yard, is it an orphan? Please read the full document. There is a deer in my yard with an arrow sticking out of it... If the deer is down or appears to be bleeding profusely call local police to have the deer put down. If the arrow is lodged in a large muscle and has not hit any major blood vessels the arrow will fall out on it's own in a few weeks. With adult deer it is best to let them heal on their own. back to top... There is a deer in my yard who is limping... Deer have relatively fragile legs compared to their very large bodies. As a result, there are countless adult deer in Connecticut with injured legs due to dogs, cars, fences and a myriad of other obstacles they encounter on a daily basis. Adult deer are not rehabilitatable. They will harm themselves and those who try to help them if confined. Deer are a prey species whose instincts tell them to flee at all cost. Deer with injuries heal surprisingly well on their own. Leave injured deer alone, unless the deer is unable to flee when you approach or if a leg injury causes dislocation or a "dangling" leg break--call local police or the DEP for a conservation officer to euthanize badly injured deer. back to top... How do I ensure my land will remain unspoiled? The key to preserving wildlife lies in the preservation of open space. Many species of wild animals can only survive in deep woods, while other species need wide open fields with surrounding woods for cover. Unfortunately, every day another acre of wooded or open land is lost to development. The only long term solution to wildlife preservation lies in the preservation of open space. The University of Connecticut's cooperative extension system publishes a wonderful manual designed to give municipal land use commissions, local land trusts and concerned citizens the information they need for long term open space planning. To obtain a copy of this manual or to have a speaker come to you town, call Jim Gibbons at (860)345-4511. The best way to ensure that your land remains unspoiled forever is to donate your land to a land trust or give a conservation easement to a land trust. There are many ways that you can preserve your land even while you continue to live or work on it. Call your local land trust or the Wildlife in Crisis Land Trust for details - (203) 544-9913. back to top...