It’s peak baby fawn season in our area and we are receiving tons of calls from people who have found baby fawns, curled up and adorable, with no mother in sight. A newborn baby on its own is concerning to human beings, but deer do things differently, and assume the baby is orphaned. But 99 percent of the time, the baby is fine and doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing.
Newborn deer are too weak and slow to keep up with their mother, so she will “park” her babies somewhere (often she has two, who she separates) where he is somewhat camouflaged in the grass. Her size and her body odor would attract predators to the baby, so she stays away,only visiting a few times a day to feed the baby.
What should you do if you find a tiny baby fawn? Usually, nothing! If the baby is quiet and uninjured, just try to keep children, curious people and pets away. If you can watch from the window, you might be lucky enough to see mom return sometime, and that’s very cool to see.
A baby fawn, a little bit older than the newborns we are hearing about
