Each year, starting in late May, DNR offices around the state are contacted by caring individuals who will call and say, "Hello DNR, this morning I found an abandoned fawn near the edge of a field on my property. I brought the fawn into my house to save it, but I don't know how to care for it. What should I do?"

The calls to the DNR regarding "orphaned" wildlife also involve baby songbirds, ducks, rabbits, raccoons, foxes and even skunks, all thought to be abandoned, which have been taken from their natural habitat by concerned and well-meaning people.

It's understandable. Babies of most species are cute and cuddly, and they tempt the nurturing aspect of human nature. People have an irresistible attraction to these young animals and want to take them home.

But Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials offer these words of advice: Leave baby animals in the wild. If you care, you'll leave them there.

If you wish to obey the law, note the location, but leave the animal where it is. If you have reason to believe the mother has been killed, return the next day, and if the youngster is still there and appears weakened, contact the nearest DNR office.

"This time of year it's fairly common to come across young animals in the wild and sometimes it appears these wildlife babies are abandoned or orphaned," said Doug Reeves, DNR wildlife biologist. "In almost all circumstances that is not the case."

Reeves said wild animals are protected by state regulations, and may not be kept except by persons who possess wildlife rehabilitation permits.

"Too often, people find fledgling birds or baby fawns, and believe they are rescuing the animal." he said. "Many people do not understand that most of the time, the mother is nearby. It also is normal for many wild animal species to leave their young unattended for hours at a time."

There are a variety of problems and health hazards, to humans and animals alike, when people try to "adopt" a baby cottontail, fawn or other young animal.

All wild animals fare best in their native habitat and removal frequently seals their fate. Wild creatures have temperamental digestive systems which seldom respond well to human food, cow's milk, or dog or cat food.

To a fawn, for example, there is an important nutritional difference between doe's milk and cow's milk. Cow's milk can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration; in some cases causing the animal to become so emaciated from the lack of proper nutrition it cannot be saved.

Another reason why wild creatures should be left in the wild is that there are many biological and disease problems associated with handling wild animals, including distemper, rabies, parasites and mange.

"Those cuddly little raccoons that people find so irresistible may be host to raccoon roundworm, a parasite that can cause blindness and death if contracted by people, especially youngsters," Reeves said. "Also, those baby raccoons eventually become sexually mature adults. If raised illegally and tamed, they still are prone to bite humans and attack household pets. The safety and disease risks just aren't worth it."

Danger to humans is one reason it's illegal to possess a wild animal, but the regulation also is there to protect animals from humans. Remember that most wild animals are healthy and very content to be left in their familiar wild surroundings.

"In a perfect world, white-tailed deer fawns would be born green and slimy," said DNR Law Enforcement Chief Alan Marble. "Perhaps then, people would leave them alone."

Marble said a doe will leave their fawns for up to eight hours before returning to nurse.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, the doe is nearby, anxiously observing your encounter with her youngster. A doe rarely is aggressive in protecting her young, but instead relies on nature's built-in protection, the fawn's camouflaged coat and its ability to remain motionless when danger is near," he said.

"Taking that fawn home is illegal and, more importantly, usually amounts to a death warrant for the animal. Its chances of surviving in the wild go down with each day that it is kept as a pet," Marble said. "A tamed deer will walk in front of a car or try to leap through a sliding glass door. A tamed buck may attack people when it becomes sexually mature."

Marble said moving any deer from one area to another also may increase the risk of transmitting disease.

Humans are no substitute for natural wildlife parents. If you discover concrete evidence of an orphaned animal -- meaning the dead carcass of the mother is nearby -- contact the nearest DNR office, which can refer you to a licensed rehabilitator in the area.

Rehabilitators are trained to handle wild animals and will be able to contact a local veterinarian to treat any sick wild animal. Rehabilitators also have the know-how to raise babies and release them back into the wild as wild animals, not as domesticated wildlife that may end up being destroyed as a nuisance because they have lost their natural fear of humans.