Springtime Babies: Fawns
As spring blooms and summer approaches, we’ll be seeing more deer out and about. Not only is this important for road safety, but it’s important to know that does (female deer) will be having their fawns. Deer give birth to their fawns between April and July (mostly in June). Since young fawns can’t keep up with their mothers, does hide them during the day and only return to nurse them around dusk and dawn. This practice protects the fawns from predators.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know this and assume that a lone fawn has been orphaned or abandoned. A mother doe may leave her fawn in the forest underbrush, under bushes, or even a backyard or garden. This is often how people come across fawns. Most of the time, the best thing to do is to leave them alone. A fawn’s instincts tell it to freeze in place if it senses a predator (or you), so a fawn laying still isn’t a sign that it needs help. Fawns are kidnapped every year because well-meaning Samaritans mistakenly think they need help. Wildlife rehabilitation centers do a great job of caring for wildlife, but no one can care for a fawn better than its own mother.
If a fawn is left in someone’s backyard, the best thing to do is to leave it where it is. If there’s a danger that dogs or kids will find it, keep them inside until the fawn has left with its mother. Does will move their young to a different location each day, so she’ll return at dusk to retrieve her baby and move it to a safer location. If the fawn is still there the next day, something may have happened to the mother. Call a wildlife rehabilitation center for professional advice.
There are several instances in which a fawn will need help from a veterinarian or rehab facility. If the fawn is visibly injured (has an open wound, is bleeding, has a broken bone), has maggots or fly eggs (like grains of rice) in its fur, is wet, or has been calling its mother for hours, then it needs help. Call a wildlife rehabilitation center so they can instruct you on how to handle the situation. Our local rehab center is Humane Indiana Wildlife in Valparaiso. You can call them at (219) 299-8027.
Empathy is one of our best traits, especially when it prompts us to help other living creatures. Unfortunately, we tend to assume that animals care for their young in the same way we do. Many instances of wildlife kidnappings occur because people see a young animal alone and mistakenly believe that something’s wrong. For humans, leaving a baby alone for an extended period of time would be neglect, but many animals do this to protect their young.
These animals hide their young and watch from a distance to avoid revealing their baby’s location to predators. If we really want to help wildlife, we need to educate ourselves on how these animals live. Only then can we determine when intervention is necessary and when it’s harmful.