North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre has a motto that states: “It’s fawn season - leave them where they lie.”
About this time of year, fawns begin to arrive and if you run across one, the NIWRA urges the public to leave them unless they have a life-threatening injury or you witness the doe is dead.
Newborn fawns will drop to the ground in response to a threat from dogs, cougars and humans or while their mother goes off to forage.
Fawns do not have a scent therefore the doe will leave them in tall grass or even in your yard. This adaptation allows for the fawn to be safe from predators. If the doe stayed close, the predator would smell her and attack the fawn. So please curb the urge to pick them up thinking they have been abandoned, the NIWRA stated and added 90 per cent of the time that is not the case.
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If you find a fawn laying out flat on the side or in the middle of the road, stop and gently herd them off into the bush or ditch. This will prevent other motorists stopping or even hitting the fawn. The mother and fawn have become separated when crossing the road and she is probably watching you. The fawns tend to lay flat instinctively hoping you will go away.
If it is necessary that the fawn must be brought to the centre, do not feed it. Feeding an improper diet may cause its death.
For more information about wildlife: www.niwra.org
If an animal is in distress, call the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre at 250-927-6025.
— NEWS Staff