© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Baby Animals

Stuart Chalmers/ Flickr Creative Commmons

Earlier this month, I received a panicked phone call from a friend about some ‘abandoned’ baby long-eared owls. “The babies are alone,” she told me, “They can’t fly and their parents are nowhere in sight.” I completely understood her concern, but thought, “Here we go again. It’s spring, and it’s time for calls about baby animals.”

Warm weather has arrived, and many of us are more actively enjoying the outdoors. The same goes for our wildlife friends – birds, squirrels, rabbits and other native animals are busy building nests and rearing their young. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to witness this miracle of life in our own backyards. Other times, people stumble upon young animals in the wild and worry that they need our help.

W. Brooks Paternotte took the helm of Irvine Nature Center as executive director in July 2013 and immediately began building on the strong 35-year foundation. Brooks is a Baltimore native who was a teacher, coach, advisor, dean and Head of the Middle School during his 13 years at Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore. He is also an instructor and ambassador of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is a Leave No Trace Master, as well as an avid outdoorsman and a features writer for FlyLife Magazine.