Found A Fawn?
In my opinion, fawns are the most “Kid-Napped” wildlife in North Carolina. This reason is because it is more common to see a fawn alone than with it’s mother. This in turn results in good citizens attempting to save the “abandoned” baby.
Mama Fawns will “park” their young and can leave them up to 12 hours while they go and forage for food to replinish their milk supply. They also tend to leave their fawns in the most absurd places like your driveway, front porch, back yard, open fields, etc. This is because they feel their fawns are most safe in open or busy areas as opposed to being tucked away in the woods where a predator is comfortable to attack.
Whenever you spot a fawn laying alone, check for these 3 things:
Is he/she continuously crying out?
Is he/she swarmed with flies?
Are there visible injuries/ diarrhea?
If neither of the above are present; It’s best to leave baby alone, notify a rehabber of the fawns location, and wait until close to dark to see if mama returns for her baby.
Other symptoms of a fawn needing help are curled ears and/or tented skin - indicating dehydration - but these symptoms are not always clear tell signs. I’ve had fawns come in with curled ears that were completely fine and I have had fawns arrive with excellently pointed ears and were critically dehydrated.
In conclusion, if you are uncertain that a fawn needs rescuing, please first contact a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator. Imagine how mama must feel if she returns to franticly find her baby is no longer around. Does will sometimes stick with their mom for years.
