Mother knows best. Although wildlife rehabilitators are capable of hand-raising orphaned mammals, they cannot compensate for true mother's care. Mother mammals provide nourishment for their offspring through their milk, which contains the appropriate nutrients as well as vitally important antibodies.
As babies grow, they learn to become who they are by observing their siblings' behaviors and by following their mother's guidance. Humans can try to mimic a true mother's care, but there is not yet an ideal substitute for authenticity.
If you come across a baby mammal, chances are their mother is nearby. You can help reunite the baby with its mother by leaving it alone. If there are humans around, the mother will be too scared to retrieve her baby. You may check the baby periodically, especially if the weather is cool and wet. Sometimes the nest has been destroyed and the babies have simply fallen from it.
You can make a temporary nest while the mother rebuilds a new one. Take a plastic hanging plant holder with drainage holes on the bottom (in case of rain). Place some dry leaves and grass in the plant holder. Hang the plant holder from a nearby tree that is close to the site where the baby was discovered.
If the mother does not return within an hour or two, then the baby should be brought to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. It may seem harsh to leave a baby mammal unattended for any amount of time. But its chances of survival are greatly increased
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