ROANOKE, Va. – You may have noticed a lot of fawns, or baby deer, starting to pop up around the area.
While your first instinct might be wanting to swoop in and come to their rescue, experts are actually urging that you leave them alone.
The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center says they receive sometimes more than 200 calls a week from people who come across fawns.
The center said these calls are most of the time completely unnecessary.
They said if you find a fawn on its own, not to worry - the mother will typically return back.
“It’s so important that people do not pick up a fawn if they see one laying beside their front door, underneath a bush, laying out on the sidewalk. The only reason to pick one up is if it’s beside mom and we have actually seen that she is dead,” Sabrina Garvin, President of the SWVA Wildlife Center said.
Here are some things that might indicate the fawn is actually in need of help, according to the wildlife center:
- The fawn is lying in the middle of the road alone and is injured,
- The fawn is making a lot of noise and has been calling for more than four hours nonstop,
- The fawn has a visible injury, but not if the injury is superficial or minor,
- The fawn is seen close to a dead doe.
The SWVA Wildlife Center also shared some things that might make you think the fawn is in need of help, but actually would be better off on its own:
- The fawn is alone and you haven’t seen any sign of a doe,
- You haven’t seen the fawn be fed,
- There are predators around, and you’re worried the fawn is unsafe,
- The fawn hasn’t moved around in days,
- The fawn has curly ears. Officials say this is a myth that is said to be an indicator of dehydration,
- The fawn is following you around.
You can read more about fawns in SWVA here. If you’d like to make a donation to the SWVA Wildlife Center, you can do so by clicking here.
