Abandoned Deer Fawns Don't Need Human Rescue
Young Animals Found Alone Often Fall Victim to Well-Meaning People
Feb 26, 2009
Female deer - called does - are very good mothers, but they don't act like human moms.
Mother deer often leave their young alone - carefully hidden - while they feed or even sleep.
Humans finding young deer alone in the woods or meadows often think the baby is orphaned. But the doe - often frantic at seeing humans so close to her young - is usually very close to the scene.
Too often, people take the fawn to a state wildlife department or wildlife rescue group - when the young deer usually doesn't need rescue at all.
Baby Deer Survival Strategies
Does hide from other deer while giving birth and during the first weeks of the fawn's life. The doe wants to keep away from any possible danger to her fawn.
The mother deer hides the fawn almost all the time - except when the baby is nursing. The mother even eats the fawn's droppings and urine to keep the area free of scent that attracts predators.
The fawn curls up and depends on its natural camouflage - such as its white spots - to fool predators, including bears, coyotes, wolves, cougars and bobcats.
Back Off and Go Away
In his book, Living with Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, Russell Link, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, offers these tips to keep fawns with their mothers:
Hikers should remember that it is natural for a fawn to be alone, and it's very likely that the mother deer is hidden nearby and watching.
It's best to not touch the deer at all - and leave the area right away.
How to Return a Fawn to its Mother
If a human has touched or moved the deer, Link says someone should run a towel or rag in the grass and rub it on the fawn to remove human scent.
Mother deer will often take back their fawns - if the young deer are taken back to where they were found within eight hours.
When the Fawn Looks Sick or Injured
Hikers that find a fawn that looks ill, weak or injured should still back off a hundred yards or more - and wait.
If the mother deer has not returned in eight hours or so, the fawn may well be an orphan.
If this happens, people should call their state or provincial wildlife agency for help. If the deer is found in a national park or forest, hikers should contact a ranger.
Some areas have wildlife rescue groups, and a search of the Internet or the telephone book will turn up contact information.
Keeping Wild Animals Wild
In most states and Canadian provinces, it is illegal to keep wild animals without a permit - even if a person intends to eventually release the animal when it recovers.
In most cases, an abandoned deer fawn isn't abandoned at all, and taking it away is a mistake. Deer are very good mothers, but they leave their young alone for long periods of time.
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