(ABC 6 News) – You probably see one a few times a week, a baby animal. While spring has finally sprung, it’s also another reason for the season – baby season for wildlife and companion animals.

Experts say if you see an animal alone like a rabbit or a deer, that doesn’t mean they’re orphans. Mom just won’t spend all day with them.

“They actually will only come back to their young twice a day at dawn and dusk. The rest of the time, they actually stay away from their young. That’s because the young do not have a scent that will attract predators,” said Lynsey White, Director of Humane Wildlife Conflict Resolution for the Humane Society of the United States.

Officials at the Humane Society of the United States say if an animal looks distressed, that could be a sign that they’re an orphan. That’s when you should bring them to your local wildlife rehabilitation center.

“One of the most important pieces of advice is to not give the animal any food. A lot of people will have a baby animal and they’ll look up on the internet and it will say to give the animal milk or something else. But this can actually be very harmful to wild animals,” added White.

Another risk you run into is misidentifying animals. You may think you know what a dog or cat looks like but Camp Companion says, it does happen.

“We actually had a family that several years ago now, brought in a litter of kittens. We brought them in, they didn’t have their eyes open and quickly realized these weren’t kittens, they were fox kits. Well, now we don’t know where their mother is so what do we do with them?” said Michele Quandt, the Executive Director at Camp Companion.

They went to the Wildlife Animal Rehab Center in Roseville and were eventually released. No matter the animal, there’s always time to learn how to take care of them.

“I think it’s a great time of year to educate children on compassion and be respectful. And the animals that live in our community that we don’t necessarily call a pet, they also still live here in Rochester and surrounding areas so we should all kind of respect that they’re there,” Quandt added.

One last tip, if you absolutely need to pick up an animal to bring it in to a professional, wear gloves. You should also make sure they’re in a safe box or crate and keep the music down.