Another Bambi Story

Yesterday I spoke with a gentleman who has become mother to a very young whitetail fawn. It seems he found the baby in bushes at the outskirts of his lawn. At first he left it alone, assuming the mother would return. She never did.

When he saw the fawn was growing weaker, he made phone calls for help. No one was able to intervene, but someone suggested that he try bottle feeding goat milk to the little one. At first he nearly had to pry upon the fawn's mouth, but once it tasted the milk...success.

The baby now follows him around and comes when called. However, this may create a whole new problem once the fawn becomes a doe. Fearlessness of humans is not healthy for wild animals, especially with deer hunting season coming in a few months.

I suggested he contact Missouri Wildlife Rescue for suggestions. They deal with orphaned and injured wildlife and hopefully will be able to help him re-home the baby to a safe place when she becomes old enough.

In the meantime, it's hard to imagine a critter much more adorable than a little fawn, is there?