What To Do If You Find A Baby Deer All Alone
Whether you’re a homeowner with a yard who often spots deer, or a commuter who might happen upon one on your route, it’s important to know what to do if you were to spot a baby deer all alone.
While we are already full swing into baby wildlife season in Massachusetts, one species is only just now making its annual appearance. The baby white-tailed deer, also known as fawns, that call Massachusetts their home are typically born in late May and early June, meaning the chances of seeing one are currently on the rise. However, when spotting these adorable creatures, there are often times a question that comes with it- what do you do when you find a baby deer completely alone and defenseless? Whether you’re a homeowner with a yard who often spots deer, or a commuter who might happen upon one on your route, it’s important to know what to do if you were to spot a baby deer all alone.
Why Would a Baby Deer be Alone?
It is not an uncommon thing to stumble across a fawn lying on the ground in public or even your own backyard. While this can be an exciting thing to see, it can also be scary when you realize the baby has been left alone with no mother in sight. This alarming realization often leads people to assume the baby has been abandoned or orphaned. I myself had this same thought when I first encountered this situation.
However, it is important to know that this is most often not the case. In fact, during the first few weeks of their lives, fawns are left alone by their mothers for most of the day. The mother deer will "park" their young in an open area to keep them safe from predators such as coyotes. While it might seem counterproductive to leave a baby alone in order to protect it, the reason deer do this is quite simple.
Fawns do not have a detectable smell, which makes it hard for predators to find them. This is especially true when they lay motionless in leaves, with their reddish-brown coat and white spots serving as camouflage. By contrast, a mother deer's distinguishable smell could call predators right to her baby if she were to stay with it all day. Therefore, the mother only returns briefly throughout the day to nurse her baby.
How to Tell if a Fawn Does Need Help
Due to the knee-jerk alarm that many people feel when finding a baby deer all alone, hundreds of healthy fawns are unnecessarily taken into custody each year by humans who think they are actually helping. This not only separates the fawn from its mother but can also overwhelm local wildlife rehabilitators.
There are, however, some rare instances when help is indeed needed. According to the Wildlife Rehabilitators' Association of Massachusetts, you will know a fawn needs help if the following happens:
It is lying flat out, head and legs away from its body, unresponsive.
It is running around frantically screaming for over an hour.
It has been attacked or has obvious life-threatening wounds.
If you do encounter a fawn under the above conditions, it is important that you do not try and take matters into your own hands. DO NOT touch or try to contain it. Instead, you should contact Mass Wildlife at (508) 389-6300. If Mass Wildlife is unavailable, you should contact a local wildlife rehabilitator, which you can find by clicking here.
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