06/02/2023
https://www.facebook.com/100070207066774/posts/304463055237261/?mibextid=jf9HGS
Here is an important remember from our agency partners at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Deer fawns often appear on the Oregon landscape starting in late May through June, and the first few weeks of life are absolutely critical for them.
Deer moms will park their fawns somewhere inconspicuous and leave the area to forage for food to provide good nutrition for the growing deer and to avoid attracting potential predators.
Unfortunately, deer fawns left alone by their moms to increase their chances of survival are often mistakenly picked up by humans with good intentions, a problem that almost immediately reduces their chances of survival to zero.
Their mother has put half a year of intense effort into reproducing and will go to great lengths to find her fawn, often searching the area in a grid pattern.
Please, unless you know absolutely for sure that a fawn is orphaned, leave them where they are. Their best chance of survival will always be right there where you spotted them.
If you know for sure the fawn is orphaned, always call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife first before taking any action to remove them.
And last, spring is a time when so many young animals are on the landscape at once, and yet not all of them will survive. Oregon's ecosystems are reliant on that flush of new life to provide nutrients for other wildlife and to replenish the landscape each year.
