What to do when you come across wildlife
Louis Delorme, the president of the Bromebolton Fish and Game Club, and long-time member Wayne Royea say that the best thing anyone can do is to leave newborn animals alone. That means don’t get cozy with them regardless of the photo-ops. And do not let your dogs chase after the deer. This message is on the heels of last week’s advisory from Quebec’s Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks.
It’s never a good time to intervene with a wild animal but spring is the time for deer, moose, and bears and all things wild and wonderful to start delivering their offspring. The ministry has issued guidelines to follow if anyone sees young deer that seem to be in bad shape, alone, or lost in the wilderness.
Do not approach them because you could scare them and cause them to run, increasing the risk of accidents, separation from the mothers, or becoming victims of predators.
Usually parents are always nearby. In the case of deer, they will await your departure to return to their fawns. A doe will leave her fawn alone, motionless under the vegetation, and go away. She comes back from time to time to take care of the little one.
In most cases where wildlife officers are given a fawn, they will make every effort to return it to the place where you found it as long as there is no indication that the mother is dead. This has proven to be effective on many occasions.
Do not handle them: touching a juvenile wild animal leaves an odor unknown to its parents, which could lead to the abandonment of the fawn. Delorme says that once the newborn’s coat has dried,
it becomes odorless. Being odor-free and spotted serve to protect the baby from predators such as coyotes. Touching them will leave them with a scent that predators will detect. Fawns and are usually born at the edge of the forest where there is a lot of long grass and slash to hide in.
If the animal is near a dead female or if, after several observations, you are witnessing deterioration in its physical condition, you may contact your local Wildlife Protection office or SOS Poaching at 1-800-463-2191.
In addition to this, Delorme and Royea underline the importance of keeping dogs from chasing the deer at any time but especially during the spring and early summer. There is a stiff fine for owners of those dogs that would be caught. “Some people claim that their dogs just want to play with the deer. What they don’t realize is that it is natural instinct for them to run away from what they think is a predator like a coyote,” explained Royea. A dog might not directly kill the deer but the stress of the chase could. Delorme says that a stressed pregnant deer is likely to abort the fetus.
Delorme laments the fact that there are fewer deer being born and attributes the situation to the regulations in zones close by. While in Zone 5, an area that extends from Magog to as far west as the Richelieu River and from Highway 112 on the north and the US border on the south, Zone 6 to the north has a system of double tagging. That means that there is a possibility that two does per hunter could be killed during hunting season. Last hunting season, from September 20 until December 20, approximately 3,815 white-tail deer were killed by hunters in Zone 5 and representing 7 per cent of all deer killed in the province.
Royea also warns that if you come across bear cubs, leave the area immediately by returning the way you came. The sows are very protective of their cubs and are dangerous.