A Little Help is Needed for a Little Orphan

Nancy and Taffy (dog) and Blizzard (horse)  found this fawn when they were out in the back fields June 2nd at 4 p.m.  This was the third fawn we've found on our property in the past week, and by far the tiniest yet.

Later on the same ride, the three of them came across a dead doe not that far away. We can't blame this one on the wolf pack -- although wild animals had been on the body (be warned, the photo is graphic) a wolf pack would not have left this much behind.  Perhaps she was clipped by a car and suffered internal injuries. Perhaps she, being very young, had trouble birthing.  There are many things that can go wrong for a wild deer.

The next morning, out again with Taffy and Blizzard, Nancy discovered that the fawn had not moved at all. Still 'sheltering', if that would be the right word, under the same furled up bracken. It had rained steadily pretty much all night. It was still drizzling. It was cold.   Spare a moment to think about that -- tiny, alone, curled up in a big scary world, in the rain...

While does can and do leave their fawns for up to 11 hours, this just seemed to be a very long time for a fawn to be left in the same place, in the cold rain.  That got us worrying that perhaps the doe we found was the mother of this little creature.

When it was still in the same place, still huddled up, still in the rain, later that afternoon (which meant it had been out for 24 hours in the same spot), Nancy phoned the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.  When they heard the circumstances, they agreed that the fawn needed to come in.

It's not hard to catch them, at this age. You simply walk up to them and pick them up.  Which Nancy did.  The fawn screamed for its Mom, a loud bleat that sounds for all the world like "MAAAA".  It didn't weigh as much as Napster. It wasn't much bigger (except for the long dangly legs) than Achmed.

Tucked into a box with some towels and straw, it rode to Huntsville, where Nancy met up with Brenda and Nadine from the Sanctuary.  Named Bondi, the fawn is doing well, and has already made a friend.

All this, however, costs money, and the Wildlife Sanctuary runs solely on generous donations. 

Please spread the word on this, and help Napster help the Fawn.  Thanks.

So Napster Felinus is putting on a push to help support Bondi the Fawn. Order a bracelet ($30), an 11X17" standout print ($50), regular 8X10 print unframed ($20) or pack of 8 cards ($20) and he'll give you 10% off the regular price.

Contact us through this Blog, or email ntapley@vianet.ca