DON’T FOOL WITH MOTHER NATURE

Leave fawns right where you find them Helping wildlife is often wrong

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Dozens of people call every day to report fawns that have been “abandoned” by their mothers. Some have even picked up the spotted babes to “rescue” them.

Hands off! says the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

“We are urging people to leave them where they find them,” according to a news release that has becomean annual announcement.

The fawns are fine and don’t need to be rescued because their mothers will return to care for them, said Tom Fazi, information and education supervisor for the commission’s Southwest Region. Does leave their fawns for hours as they search for food and water.

“A doe also will leave the fawn alone when she senses danger,” he said, to try to draw the predator’s attention away. “We have this problem every year.”

White-tailed deer give birth from mid-May to mid-June, so wildlife rehabilitators and game commission and police dispatchers end up “fielding dozens of calls every day from well-intentioned individuals who encounter fawns.”

If someone picks up a fawn, “we tell them to take them back where they found them,” Mr. Fazi said. “When they return the fawn, usually the doe is there looking for it.”

Deer and other wildlife “will not abandon their healthy young,” he said.

Nature is incredibly beautiful and amazingly complex. It can also be cruel. Wild animals can fall victim to starvation, temperature extremes and predators.

Veterinarians often warn people to stay away from wild animals. Disturbing the balance of nature often causes harm, and even feeding wildlife can put animals in jeopardy.

A fed bear often becomes a dead bear because it loses its natural fear of humans. Giving raccoons access to food or trash is a recipe for disaster because they carry rabies and other diseases. Feeding deer in winter can cause problems with their digestive tracts, which adapt to a sparse cold-weather diet. Even feeding birds in your yard can make them vulnerable to outdoor cats or other predators.

We naturally want to help animals in distress. My neighbors called me at home last week about a small bird they found under a tree. When I stopped by, the little blue jay was vocal and moving. Clearly, the little fellow was hungry. We hoped the mother was around to care for the fledgling.