BABY DEER/FAWN(S)
Staying with their biological parent is their best chance of survival.
1. OBSERVE
Where did you find the baby?
Frequently, well-meaning people find a fawn curled up alone in their yard, in the woods, or near their front stoop, and they mistakenly assume the animal is orphaned. A fawn found alone lying quietly is normal. PLEASE LEAVE THE FAWN ALONE.
Resist the urge to touch the fawn.
Fawns have no odor and their spotted coloration serves as camouflage, both of which protect them from predators. However, the mother has an odor so she leaves them in a safe place and returns to feed them several times a day for a few minutes each time. Otherwise, she stays away. This protects the fawn and keeps predators away. When a doe has more than one baby, she will park them separately, but not far from one another. This way, if a predator finds one of her fawns, the other(s) will remain safe. If a fawn is spotted, please keep all people and pets away from the area.
Old enough to travel:
When the fawn is a month old s/he will begin traveling with his mother. Removing a healthy fawn from the wild is not only illegal but will most often result in the death of the animal. Fawns that habituate to people or dogs (because of being raised by well-intentioned people) have no chance of survival once released. Furthermore, fawns need to learn their landscape and who their predators are and how to escape them. This is what they learn from following their mother’s cues.
Staying with their biological parent is best.
If they raised by people, even the best rehabilitators, fawns are handicapped because they miss the critical learning they would get from being with their mother.
2. REUNITE
Was the baby moved?
People usually pick up a fawn when they find him/her alone, wrongly assuming s/he’s orphaned. This occurs about 95% of the time! The fawn should be taken back immediately to the exact spot where s/he was found. Do not stay at the site or you will keep the mother away. Do not expect to see her; she will remain hidden until everyone leaves the area, but she will quickly reclaim her fawn when she feels it’s safe to do so.
Rescue Release
There have been instances when a fawn has been startled and run off in fear, only to run into trouble. If a fawn is rescued from such a plight (trapped in a garage, caught in a fence and rescued without injuries), leave the fawn in the area where s/he was originally located. Leave the area and the mom will almost always find her fawn. Keep all people and pets away. The mother will not return with danger nearby.
3. CALL
Call for help if:
If the baby is snuggled up to or seems to waiting next to a dead adult female deer, call for help.
If the baby is sick, lying flat out with legs splayed away from his/her body and unresponsive, exhibiting life-threatening injuries after an attack or other trauma (being hit by a car), call for help.
If the baby is wandering around crying and constantly vocalizing (sounding like a sheep) all day, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance.
To assist a fawn that has been abandoned or injured, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance.
