Please don't take me away from my mom!
Lately we have been getting quite a few calls about, and admissions of, healthy baby antelope that have mistakenly been picked up by people who mean the best, but are actually interfering with the natural order of things. This is often to the detriment of the animal as people do not always realise how specialised the care of these animals is. The best individual for the job is always mom!
Solitary antelope mothers leave their newborn lambs hidden while they go off to feed and keep predators as far away as possible. A lamb's natural behaviour is to remain still and quiet to avoid detection, and although it may seem abandoned, it is actually deliberately trying to remain hidden until the mother returns to feed it. Unlike adults, lambs will not try and run away from you when approached, often leading people to mistakenly believe that they may need help.
So what should you do if you come across a lamb?
Unless there is an immediate danger to the lamb, or it looks obviously sick or injured, the best thing you can do is to leave it alone, exactly where it is. Avoid contact, and avoid the urge to constantly keep going back to check on it. The mother will not approach the lamb while you are standing right there! If the lamb has not moved at all overnight, is walking around in distress calling for its mother, the mother has been killed, or if you genuinely have any other reason to believe the lamb has been abandoned, please call us on 033 330 3036 for advice.