Michigan Porch

Wildlife

The animals you meet, and what to do.

This is the hub for the animals you encounter — the fawn in the flowerbed, the raccoon in the attic, the coyote at dusk. Most answers fit on a porch sign: leave it alone, and here's exactly who to call if you can't.

First, the good part

Michigan is one of the great places in the country to share a backyard with wild things. Whitetail deer graze the edge of the lawn at dusk. Sandhill cranes bugle over the fields in spring, and loons call across the lakes up north. Bald eagles — nearly gone a generation ago — now nest in nearly every county, and otters, beavers, and wild turkeys have all come back. Most of these animals you'll never need to do anything about. You just get to watch them. If you'd rather lean into that, the birding & wildlife-watching hub is the door for it. Everything below is for the few moments when an animal and your house get a little too close, and you want to know the right thing to do.

Start here

The animals you meet: Michigan wildlife rules, explained

The fawn in the yard, the raccoon in the attic, the deer at the feeder — the rules for every wildlife encounter, and exactly who to call.

Read the orientation →

Every May

Found a baby animal? Read this first

That fawn is not abandoned. The species-by-species guide to baby wildlife, the real emergency signs, and the legal way to help when help is actually needed.

That fawn is not abandoned →

The guides

In your house & yard

Wildlife in your house and yard: the landowner's rules

Since 2023, Michigan landowners may remove 13 common species doing damage — year-round, no permit. The list, the fine print, and the playbooks for attic and deck classics.

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Feeding wildlife

Feeding wildlife in Michigan: what's legal, what's wise

Birds: legal, with real fine print. Deer and elk in the Lower Peninsula: illegal. The honest map of Michigan's feeding rules, bread-at-the-duck-pond included.

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The big animals

Bears, coyotes, wolves, and cougars: the encounter page

What to actually do about Michigan's big animals — bear attractants, coyote hazing, wolf law, and the real (calm) story on cougars. Written to lower heart rates.

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Keeping & collecting

Keeping and collecting: pets, turtles, feathers, and sheds

Can you keep it? Almost always no — with the narrow legal lanes mapped: the exotic-animal bans, the herp rules on a fishing license, the feather surprise, and the one found treasure that's yours.

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Roadkill & sick wildlife

Roadkill, sick, and dead wildlife: the practical page

Hit a deer? You can keep it — free instant permit. Plus the cannot-salvage list, the don't-touch guidance for dead birds, and how reporting helps the DNR see disease moving.

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What changed this year

What changed in Michigan wildlife rules for 2026

Wildlife rules barely move — the live items are the feeding-ban bill in the Senate, evolving avian-flu guidance, and the seasonal beats: fawn season every May, feeders down in bear country.

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The official sources

Michigan Porch explains; the DNR decides. Injured or orphaned animals go to a licensed rehabilitator; sick, dead, or unusual wildlife to Eyes in the Field; violations to the RAP line, 800-292-7800. See also Hunting, Fishing, Camping, ORV & Trails, and Boating.