It's the forest animals' birthday

"April 1st is the birthday of all animals," foresters like to say. Of course, this is not absolutely true, but it does underline the fact that this is the time when many animals give birth.

Encounters with young, seemingly helpless animals awaken the protective instinct in many people. With the will to help, they then unfortunately often do exactly the wrong thing: they collect the little ones and take them away. This is usually the beginning of unimaginable animal suffering and often ends in the death of the animals or in a life in permanent captivity - and completely unnecessarily.

Animals do not need human help

Fawns and young hares that sit motionless for hours on end in the countryside are not helpless, sick or even in distress - quite the opposite! This behavior ensures their survival. This is because they are not discovered and eaten by predators such as foxes and birds of prey. They also conserve their energy reserves and quickly gain size and weight. Their mothers often only come by two or three times a day to suckle - which is also completely normal and sufficient.

In the great outdoors: dogs on a lead!

"Especially now, it is extremely important to stay on the paths in nature and, above all, to always keep dogs on a lead! Because even the best-trained dog can get hunting fever. As a result, wild animals are unfortunately very regularly seriously injured by dog bites and die in agony. It is also dangerous for dogs to run through the forest off the lead. For one thing, there are many wild boars living around Jena, which are superior to dogs in direct encounters. Secondly, they can easily pick up parasites and diseases if they come into contact with a fox, for example," explains Dr. Frank Hünefeld, Team Leader for Nature Conservation at the City of Jena.

Incidentally: Leaving the paths, using footpaths and also unleashing dogs are generally prohibited in nature reserves - regardless of the time of year. You can easily tell whether you are entering a nature reserve by the yellow signs with the owl.

Capture attempts are the greatest danger for young falcons

But even in the city, you can come across supposedly helpless young animals - such as small falcons. The adult birds can usually only be seen soaring through the air. The young, on the other hand, often jump out of the nest shortly before fledging and spend a few more days on or near the ground. There they continue to be cared for by their parents. During this time, it is not unusual for them to take a break from their strenuous flying exercises on bicycle saddles, hopping over the ground and calling loudly. This is completely normal behavior.

Unfortunately, they are repeatedly chased away and caught in such situations because many people mistakenly believe they have to "help" these young birds somehow or "save" them from danger. For the little falcons, however, every attempt to catch them - even if it is well-intentioned - means one thing above all: unimaginable stress. In such situations in particular, the animals try to flee frantically and run the risk of running or flying into passing cars or glass panes in their panic. This almost always ends in serious or fatal injuries. In contrast, they almost always cope well with the normal processes and dangers in the "urban jungle".

"Our big request is therefore: please leave the falcons undisturbed on the spot. If in doubt, leave your bike where it is if the saddle has been chosen as a perch. Do not approach the animals - not even for photos. But above all: never catch the falcons," appeals Dr. Hünefeld.

Rare exception: animal in distress

In the very few cases in which a wild animal is captured, it is an animal in distress. The signs of an animal in need of help are

• Visible wounds,
• an abnormal posture or position of wings or other extremities.

In these cases, the animal can be taken to the vet. The aim of treating the animal is to release it back into the wild.