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BRAINERD — Spring and early summer are seasons of renewal for the creatures that inhabit our woods, fields and waters. Wild parents, furred and feathered, will be busy feeding and caring for their new families. Some, like red foxes and great horned owls, already are.
In a few weeks whitetail does will be nursing growing fawns. In a hollow tree deep in a shadowy oak forest, young raccoons will find there is life beyond the confines of their den.
Some parents and young are quite evident, like the loon pair loafing with their downy chicks on a calm lake. Other wild creatures raise their young in relative seclusion. Ducklings for instance, are masters of camouflage, and they scurry for cover when their alert mother detects danger and gives them a signal.
Humans are always tempted to scoop up wild babies, assuming they have been abandoned, but that’s usually not the case, so it’s best to leave them alone since the parent or parents are usually nearby.
The photos on this page portray the young of both common and rarely seen animals inhabiting our wild outdoors.
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BILL MARCHEL is a wildlife and outdoors photographer and writer whose work appears in many regional and national publications as well as the Brainerd Dispatch. He may be reached at bill@billmarchel.com. You also can visit his website at BillMARCHEL.com.
