Visitor Fawn at Work

[doitmyself]

Was shocked to see this resting near our greenhouse yesterday. We let it be the entire day, knowing that mama was probably around. This morning it was gone. As cute as they are, mixed blessings because of all the crop (tree) damage they do.

 

[FT92]

must have liked it there , felt safe...

 

[A_Harman]

They're such elegant animals.
Too bad they're designed to be hit by cars.

 

[Dave9]

Odds are that it was lost or abandoned, mamma killed, etc, and didn't have anywhere else better to be, then moved on. Momma was not probably around, the two were separated somehow. Momma might've found it, or it might've gotten scared or hungry to cause it to leave.

 

[ecotourist]

Apparently does sometimes leave fawns for a short time near houses or buildings because its safe there. You should never assume that a fawn has been abandoned.

We had a doe and 2 fawns in our backyard yesterday. And you're right about the mixed blessing. It's nice to have them, but they eat flowers, apples, etc.

 

[doitmyself]

We'll never know, Dave9. But wildlife biologists and the literature show that adult deer leave their newborn fawns alone quite a bit. Around here it is not uncommon to see white tail deer in neighborhoods. They have become conditioned to not be afraid of humans.

Numerous sources:
https://www.wildlifecenter.org/baby-deer
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_83071_86109---,00.html

 

[MNgopher]

Odds are Mama is around somewhere - and if they are used to people, they leave them in weird places all the time. Neighboring police department had pictures of a fawn on someones porch this week. Left alone and Mama came back that evening.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
They're such elegant animals.
Too bad they're designed to be jump in front of cars.

There I fixed it for you.

 

[MrQuackers]

The Yearling

 

[Gebo]

Jerky?

 

[IMSA_Racing_Fan]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
They're such elegant animals.
Too bad suburban sprawl kills them.

Fixed

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
Originally Posted by A_Harman
They're such elegant animals.
Too bad suburban sprawl kills them.

Fixed

Incorrect.

Whitetail deer are forest edge creatures, not deep forest, not field. Forest edge is something suburban areas have in abundance. Urban sprawl would be a problem for them.

Indeed, the whitetail deer population on the whole is up in the USA, and states are having trouble finding enough hunters to keep the herds in check.

Suburban cars, on the other hand, may be killers, but do not threaten their existence on the whole.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
They're such elegant animals.
Too bad they're designed to be hit by cars.


I just got home from a two hour drive … somebody had hit a young doe on a curve … tough to look at …

 

[doitmyself]

To add to this story. Look closely 3 feet to the right of the fawn and observe a fluff of down feathers. Just a week or two ago there was a wild mallard nest there. It was destroyed by some critter just days before they should have hatched (racoon, possom, or skunk?). Every year for the past 18, a duck pair has returned to our upland (no water feature) site to nest. I imagine that today's pair is progeny of the originals?

Under the greenhouse exhaust fan, three feet to the right of the fawn siting:

 

[bchannell]

We've had one in our front yard for two or three days now and mama comes by twice a day, dusk and dawn to feed it. That's completely normal. Deer leave them where they think predators won't find them. We live on 7 acres on the edge of town, with lots of lawn and some woods, so they know that the open lawn is safer than the protected woods as far as predators are concerned. Little fellow gets up and moves from sun to shade and when we mow, it just moves a few feet so we can mow. It must feel safe here. I saw mama checking on it during the day and feeding it at dusk. They're really neat creatures.

 

[spasm3]

We see several a year. My front yard on any given day.