NonStop Local's Ryan Toohill shows what you should do if you find a deer fawn without its mother.
Missoula, Mont. — Fawn season is underway, and with that comes the chance of finding one on its own.
This happened recently at the University of Montana when a fawn ended up in a drainage area. Anna Bruning, UM's assistant director of student engagement and community partnerships, handled the situation in a way that wildlife officials said can help guide others.
“At first, we decided to leave it alone for a while because we know that usually moms drop off their fawns and like to leave them while they're going out and getting food for the day. However, after a couple of hours, we realized that the fawn was walking around and crying out quite a bit. So that's when we decided to call FWP and UM PD,” Bruning said.
Vivaca Crowser, regional information and education manager with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, explained that people should usually leave a fawn alone unless it is stuck, has been alone for more than a day or is badly hurt.
“Staying away is the best bet because, you know, sometimes it's really hard to tell whether the animal will be okay. So, anytime we go and handle wildlife, we're adding an extra amount of stress and our own scent to that animal, which could lead to it being abandoned,” Crowser said.
Bruning said help from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and University of Montana Police got the fawn out of the drainage area safely.
“They spent probably 5 to 10 minutes just kind of trying to shoot towards a ramp that they had initially set up,” Bruning said. “And then when the fawn couldn't get out on the ramp, they were able to throw a cover over it, lift it up and take it to a new location.”
Crowser said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and local authorities are available when a fawn may need help. She also reminded people that feeding deer is illegal.
Originally published on montanarightnow.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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