|
|
White Tails Deer Fawns
It's that time of year again at Red Creek Wildlife Center. Baby wild animal are plentiful and our phone rings constantly with emergencies and inquiries.
We would like to remind people that finding an animal alone does not mean it is in distress. Many baby animals, such as deer, are typically found without a parent. When people call authorities to report a foundling fawn, they are often just told to "leave it alone." The fawn will be seen day after day, in the exact same place, alone. Unless the person understands the biology behind that deer family, it becomes difficult to not intervene.
Fawns are easily preyed on by predators. They are small and clumsy and often cannot run fast. Staying hidden is their defense against predators. A young fawn is visually camouflaged but its primary protection is that its scent glands have not yet developed. They have no body odor so predators cannot smell them. Staying still in a safe location is an effective hiding strategy.
The mother, wanting to keep that area free of deer scent, will avoid the location so as not to place her odor in the area. She visits the fawn only a few times each day, often during the night, and keeps her visits short. The chances of a person actually seeing the mother with the baby is slim.
If you find a fawn, leave it alone and educate neighbors and family to do the same. Don't assume the fawn is orphaned unless it's found with the dead mother.
Red Creek Wildlife Center rehabilitates fawn for release but only if that baby is truly in distress. Signs of distress are an obvious injury or orphan, being cold and lethargic, and maggots or fly eggs on the fur.
Fawn Rehabilitation
Red Creek Wildlife Center has been caring for injured, sick and orphaned animals and birds since 1991, but until 2003 we were unable to rehabilitated fawns. Thanks to permission from WCO William Dingman, Red Creek has been rehabilitating white tailed deer fawn with great success.
The rehabilitation of fawns is time consuming and costly and there is no government funding that supports wildlife rehabilitation. We rely on public support to fund our work. You can help by purchasing fawn related gifts at our gift shop or by sending a tax deductable donation through the link at the top left of the page. Thank you.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
