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The animals you meet: Michigan wildlife rules, explained
The fawn in the yard, the raccoon in the attic, the deer at the feeder — the plain-English rules for every wildlife encounter, and exactly who to call.
Read the orientation →Wildlife
The animals you meet, in plain English.
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.
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.
Read the guide →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.
Read the guide →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.
Read the guide →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.
Read the guide →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.
Read the guide →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.
Read the guide →The signpost
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.