Spring may be the time for love to bloom, but it's also the time for wild animal babies to be born.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is urging people not to let their compassionate side come to the fore when they see a little animal in distress.

Jim Donatelli, wildlife conservation officer for Mercer County, said people will find raccoon babies near their dead mother or a nest in a tree they have just cut down and some feel compelled to take them in. His message: don't.

It's not only illegal to remove wildlife from the wild, but raccoons, skunks, bats, coyotes, groundhogs and foxes can carry rabies, which can spread easily to human and domestic animals.

"It's something that doesn't go away," he said of the disease in the wild.

Rabies is an infection of the brain caused by a virus. The disease incubates for 20 to 90 days after exposure and, once established in the brain, usually is beyond treatment.

"Rabies can be fatal," Donatelli said.

Baby animals that are found alone have not necessarily been abandoned by their mothers, said Calvin DuBrock, the commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management director.

Some animals forage for food and bring it to their young, and mothers often try to lead predators away from their young.

Donatelli said a raccoon found in Shenango Township, near the West Middlesex border, has tested positive for the disease. It's the only positive test so far this year, but in the same spot where last year's only rabid raccoon in the county was found.

"That tells me there is a reservoir of rabies right there," he said.

The commission tests wild animals only when they are exposed to human or domestic animals and, in each county case, a rabid raccoon came in contact with a chained dog, he said.

A rabid animal does not have to bite to spread the disease, Donatelli said. Animal saliva coming in contact with a cut can pass it on, he said.

"They are really putting themselves at risk by handling these things," Donatelli said.

Because of the disease's long incubation period, animals can have it without appearing to be ill.

"Animals infected with rabies may not show obvious symptoms, but still may be able to transmit the disease," said state Health Department epidemiologist Dr. James Rankin.

Wild animals also can carry ringworms and parasites such as fleas and lice, which can be passed on to people or pets.