BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–Call it “Bambi syndrome,” if you will. Who among us could resist taking home an apparently abandoned baby deer in order to care for it? While your heart may be in the right place, touching or removing a fawn from its habitat is illegal–and for good reason.
According to DNR’s Turkey and Deer Supervisor, Charles Ruth, “Many people who come upon a solitary spotted fawn assume that the animal has been deserted by its mother.”
This is not the cause, Ruth states. These supposedly abandoned baby deer are not abandoned, just resting safely. Often the mother is hiding nearby, and is actually protecting the fawn more by separating herself from it. Since the fawn has special unique markings that allows it to blend into the forest floor, it can safely bed down while the mother looks for food or predators.
Fawns born in April, May, or June follow this pattern of behavior until they are old enough to move with their mothers, usually around three to four weeks of age.
Human interaction with the fawns, such as playing with or petting the deer, can cause the mother to abandon her fawn.
The “help” of uninformed people not only removes deer illegally from their natural habitat, but it also creates additional danger for the deer and its human caretakers. In cases where fawns have been taken from the woods and raised as semi-domesticated, there are instances where both the deer and its human caretakers were harmed. Adult bucks can became particularly aggressive during mating season, and can lash out at people living in close proximity to them. Sadly, these supposedly tame deer can injure themselves or people.
Ruth states that, “where deer are a threat to people, the deer sometimes have to be killed.”
If you have any questions regarding deer, contact the DNR hotline at 1-800-922-5431.
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