Fawning over fawns
Right now (May-June) is the time that White Tailed Deer have their babies in Ontario. During this time wildlife rehabililators receive a lot of calls from people who perceive fawns to be abandoned. It is important to note that deer are great mums and don’t often abandon their babies. In fact I know of many cases where does have adopted babies not their own and nursed and raised them.
It is often stated that fawns are born scentless. I believe they are in fact born not smelling like deer and they quickly take on the scent of their environment. Fawns are precocious babies and within 15–20 minutes of being born they are able to walk and will nurse. Like cows, goats and sheep deer are ruminants. This means they have a complex digestive system including 4 stomach compartments, but for the first little while the warm milk triggers a mechanism that will allow the first 3 compartments to be by-passed with milk landing directly in the 4th stomach which functions much like our own. The other 3 compartment become functional at a later date with the help of exposure to the right food sources.
To keep their babies safe female deer leave their fawns hidden in tall grass and shrubbery. To stay with her fawn puts her at risk of discovery by predators (she is tall and has a strong scent) and this in turn puts the fawn at risk. Fawns can walk and run, but they can’t run as fast as adult deer, nor can they jump obstacles.
The safest thing for the adult females to do is to hide their fawns while they go about their deer business. They return to their fawns usually under the cover of darkness when all is quiet to feed them and give them a little maternal care before they leave again.
Fawns are pretty smart and they lay down flat and are quiet when a predator is near. They know they are not likely able to outrun the predator, but sometimes they get bored, hot or cold and they will walk from spot to spot if they feel safe to do so. When they get hungry they might call for their mother, but she will only appear if it is safe for her to do so.
To deer and fawns we are apex predators (so are our dogs). Our presence causes them tremendous stress. The fawns will go in defensive mode and lay flat and still hoping that we don’t see them. This is normal behaviour often misinterpreted by humans.
Deer are a prey species and as such extraordinarily susceptible to a condition called capture myopathy. Which is essentially an extreme version of shock. Capture Myopathy is a lethal condition. It is for this reason we should not linger in the presence of a fawn. Enjoy that you have seen one and move on and please keep your dogs leashed. Getting chased by a dog can induce the same condition followed by death.
Another quality fawns have is that they are extremely impressionable. They can imprint on almost anything (humans, dogs, etc). When young they easily lose their fear of humans and actually lose the ability to associate themselves with their own kind in cases of prolonged exposure and lack of conspecific interactions. In short, if you bring a fawn into your home it will comfortably hang out on your couch with you and your dog in under an hour. This might seem cute (there are tons of seemingly cute videos floating around the internet), but this is in fact extremely harmful for the wellbeing of the fawns and later adult deer.
There have been cases where adult male deer got into rivalry with humans in an effort to breed one. These deer end up dead and people end up hurt. Also any deer approaching humans during deer hunting season will not likely come out winning. Getting raised alone and habituated to humans robs fawns of going on to lead a normal happy deer life. They will be shunned by other deer due to their abnormal behaviour preventing them from having a productive life.
In the majority of cases when I receive calls about ‘abandoned’ fawns the fawns need to be left because they are fine and simply waiting for their mother. It makes humans anxious to leave them alone, but it is how mother nature has adapted to do things and we need to trust that she knows what she is doing.
There is of course cases when we know fawns do need help. When we know mum has been killed or died or if the fawn appears obviously injured or sick. Determining if fawns are orphaned take a bit more finesse. Dehydrated fawns will have curled ears instead of straight ears, their eyes will be slightly sunken and they have a gaunt look to them. They move slowly and appear lethargic. If you observe that in a fawn it is likely the fawn needs help.
If at all possible call for help and get advise before you remove the fawn from the area. If you have mistakenly taken a fawn, please return it to where you found it. Human scent on the fawn will not make the female deer reject her fawn. It will simply make her give her fawn a tongue bath.
If someone texts me a picture of a fawn I can easily see if it is ok or not. Please make sure you don’t feed the fawn. Instead follow the advice of the wildlife rehabilitation, SPCA, Humane Society or Animal Control staff member you speak too.
I have learned over the years that many people are not aware of the amount of consultation that goes on behind the scenes. My point is; the latter agency staff will consult with someone like myself if they are in doubt and informed decisions are made.
If you see a fawn, enjoy the moment and move on unless it is obviously injured or looks sick.
Under absolutely no circumstances try to feed the fawn. Rehydration is a complex procedure that requires time and various stages. The wrong food at the wrong time will cause organ failure and death. Aside from that I have been on the receiving end of many fawns people had in their homes for a week or more who arrived at my place in a horrible emaciated shape. The raising of wildlife babies really needs to be left to professionals. It is not nearly as easy as google makes it out to be.
Don’t hang on to a fawn any longer than you have too. The faster you can get it professional help the better the chances of not only survival, but it also tremendously improves a fawns chances of growing up to be a mentally healthy deer able to go on and have a normal wild deer life.
