We're coming up on spring again and soon the phone will be ringing off the hook with wildlife encounters. One of the biggies is fawns suddenly discovered in people's backyards. Let us say right now...THEY ARE NOT ABANDONED. Mother does not stay with her offspring. They come to them to feed only.  The reason they do this is not to draw attention to the fawn by the adult's scent. The baby is scentless and by not moving, almost invisible to wandering predators. If you leave your gate open, the mother will come and lead the baby away as soon as it gets dark. NOT BEFORE!!!
  If you pursue this fawn or try to chase it out of your yard, the chase will almost certainly result in the death of the baby. Please try to let the animal be ( keep your inquisitive children and dogs inside for the day ) We realize this may not be an easy task. Try to turn this into a learning experience for your children. Explain to them how stress can injure a small animal. Turn it into an educational opportunity rather than an ordeal.
  The Ohio Wildlife Center has recently completed extensive tests that prove beyond a doubt that stress can kill white-tail deer after only two minutes of pursuit. The adrenaline that they use to escape causes tremendous amounts of blood to be pumped into their muscle tissue. After a few minutes of stress the muscles start to hemorrhage. This is an irreversible process called exertional myopathy or sometimes called capture myopathy.
  Deer have no defense other than running away from situations that scare them. But, believe it or not, cannot run very far. After a few minutes the animal will collapse in exhaustion. More than likely, the animal will not keel over dead during a prolonged chase, but almost certainly will die after three or four days. Please give these little guys a break. They don't understand that you're trying to help them, or move them, or anything other than  trying to EAT THEM! If they are sick, there  will  be telltale  signs  to let you know. Observe the fawn before you call us. Is it laying totally over on it's side? Does it have flies swarming around it? Is it crying continuously?(hours on end) If the baby does not exhibit any of these danger signs, then please...LEAVE IT ALONE!! It got in by itself and it will get out by itself. It has been programmed by a million years of evolution to wait for it's mother. Know the difference between helping and interfering. If you need more advice, then feel free to give us a call and we will do our best to talk you through the situation.