Was this fawn kidnapped?

In this video, WildCare Medical Staff examines a fawn to determine if he is orphaned or if he has been "kidnapped" and should be returned to his mother's care. Then they offer him a bottle of the rehydrating solution PediaLyte.
Trouble viewing the video? Click to watch it on YouTube.


This wobbly-legged fawn learned quickly to suckle from a bottle. His eagerness to accept both the bottle and the relatively tasteless hydrating solution inside was an additional indication that he had been orphaned. Photo by Alison Hermance

Was this fawn kidnapped?

The Marin Humane Society (MHS) officer who brought this fawn to WildCare wasn't sure the baby deer actually needed to be admitted as a patient.

The family that found the fawn had contacted MHS about a dead doe, a female deer, earlier that day that had probably been hit by a car.

Then the family saw this spotted fawn.

WildCare Medical Staff and the MHS officer speculated that he could be the fawn of the dead doe, or he could belong to a different doe entirely. It's fawn season, and if you look, you'll see many wobbly-legged little fawns right now.

To make sure, the officer brought this baby to WildCare.

Medical Staff performed an exam, hoping that they would find the full belly and good hydration that indicated this baby's mother was alive and well. In that case, the fawn could be returned to his mother's care.

Story continues below...

Sponsor wild babies in Foster Care

WildCare works hard through education and outreach to prevent wild animal babies from being "kidnapped", and we do everything we can to reunite babies with their wild moms whenever possible.

But when a baby can't be returned to his parents, he must go into Foster Care at WildCare. This dedicated around-the-clock care for our most sensitive patients requires tremendous resources. You can help!

Click to donate now and sponsor the orphaned wild babies of spring!


After a couple of days in intensive care at WildCare, this little fawn has gone to our Fawn Foster Care Specialist where he will be raised with others of his kind until he's old enough to be released. Here he's attempting to walk out of his carrier, but a restraining arm keeps him inside. Photo by Alison Hermance

A fawn tucked into grass like this one probably doesn't need help. Leave that baby alone! Photo by Susan Sasso

Sometimes a mother deer leaves her fawn in what seems to us to be an odd location like this porch. This fawn is doing just as his mother told him, however, and staying still and quiet. Photo by Sherry Antonoff

This poster, featuring drawings by Manor School students, is being hung as part of our joint public service campaign with MMWD.

It's fawn season! Photo out the car window by Alison Hermance

Baby birds still covered in fluff can't thermoregulate, so they need warmth and nourishment constantly. A baby that is cool to the touch needs help. Photo by Melanie Piazza

Fully-feathered fledglings can hop but not fly. Keep pets and people away from these young birds— their parents are still looking after them. Photo by Melanie Piazza

But the exam quickly revealed that this baby had an empty belly and was dehydrated. Even more tellingly, he had a bad case of diarrhea and fly eggs on his bottom that indictated it had been a while since he had last received a healthy meal of mother's milk and her care.

Clearly this baby was not a "kidnap" victim— he was orphaned and would need to stay at WildCare to be raised with other orphaned fawns in our Foster Care system.

How do you know if a wild animal needs your help?

Every spring WildCare admits a number of baby animals that have been "kidnapped" by well-meaning people who found them alone and assumed they needed help. In fact, one in five of the fawns brought to WildCare in 2013 were healthy and were promptly returned to their mothers.

While every wildlife rescue is done for the most benevolent of reasons, "kidnapping" a healthy baby can have far-reaching impacts on the health of both mom and baby.

The first things to look for if you think a wild animal of any age needs rescue are the Five C's. If an animal demonstrates any of these five symptoms, it is an emergency and he needs immediate help:

1. Is he Crying?

2. Is he Coming toward you (approaching people)?

3. Is he Covered with blood or insects?

4. Has he been Caught by a cat or a dog?

5. Is he Cold?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, immediately call WildCare's 24-hour Emergency Hotline at 415-456-7283 for assistance and advice.

In the case of fawns, observing any one of the Five C's indicates that the baby does need help. A fawn's primary defense mechanism is to stay completely still and quiet, nestled into whatever spot his mother placed him while she went off to forage.

Mother deer know that their presence near their babies alerts predators to the fawns' existence, which puts them at risk. In order to keep her young safe, a doe will leave her fawn in a secluded area, often for as long as 12 hours, distracting predators away from her baby while she forages for food.

Fawns’ camouflage and their ability to stay still keep them safe from predators while the mother is away. When approached by a perceived predator (humans, pets or wildlife) a fawn’s instinctual response is to lay very low and not move at all. People often mistake this defensive behavior for injury, weakness or illness.

But it isn't. A still, quiet fawn is a healthy fawn.

You should be worried if you see a fawn acting contrary to this normal behavior. If a fawn is up and walking around by itself, or is crying, call WildCare immediately at 415-456-SAVE (7283).

What does a crying fawn sound like? Click for a recording of the heart-rending call a fawn makes when he's upset. Upon hearing the sound, this fawn's rescuer originally thought he had an exotic bird in his yard.

This recording is useful for a very specific purpose— to assist WildCare in reuniting healthy "kidnapped" fawns with their mothers.

If a mother deer is nearby and hears her baby crying, she will usually come running. But, as you know, a healthy fawn knows his best self-defense is to stay still and quiet.

So a fawn being carried by Wildlife Hospital volunteers back to where he was found figures he'd best stay as quiet as possible until the predators (us!) go away.

When attempting the reunite, the recorder playing the cry is left near the fawn while the people step away to observe from a distance. It is a very effective tool that will often bring the mother deer quickly.

Fortunately, it is a complete myth that a mother wild animal won't accept her baby if he has human scent on him (it's not true about birds either!), so a mother deer attracted by crying calls will immediately take her baby back and lead him to a safer spot.

WildCare receives dozens of calls a week during fawn season from concerned people who find the little animals in their yards. With every caller, our Hotline Operators run through the Five C's. If the answer to any question is yes, they usually ask the caller to bring the fawn to WildCare.

During the month of April, WildCare and the Marin Municipal Water District have teamed up in a joint public awareness campaign to keep baby animals from being kidnapped this spring, but also to make sure babies in need actually get the care they need.

Click to read the press release sent to local media and look for articles in your local papers. MMWD also commissioned a wonderful poster to be distributed and hung in multiple locations informing people of the Five C's and the need to make sure a fawn really needs help before touching him. Click for the poster.

Take the Five C's Quiz!

The Five C's are very obvious symptoms that indicate an animal needs help. But sometimes it's not as clear whether your intervention would be in the animal's best interest.

Take a look at some actual scenarios from WildCare's records and see how you would respond:

Scenario 1: A tiny fawn appears one morning under the bushes next to your front porch. She's sitting completely still and isn't making a sound. The baby isn't very well hidden, and there's no sign of the mother deer. Does she need help?

Answer: No! That baby is fine and does not need rescue. Deer, like Jackrabbits, will leave their young alone for up to twelve hours at a time while they forage. The babies know to stay still and quiet, tucked into the grass where their mother left them. Sometimes the mother deer makes a poor choice as to where her baby should spend the daylight hours, but she is probably nearby, and worried that a predator (you!) has discovered her fawn. Leave the fawn alone by removing yourself completely from the scene and eventually Mom will come back to retrieve her baby.

Scenario 2: Last night's wind left a lot of debris in the park where you walk your dog. Your foot dislodges a leaf and underneath you find a small fluff-covered bird. He's alive, but his little belly is cool to the touch. Does he need help?

Answer: Yes! That baby definitely needs to come to WildCare. If a baby is cool or cold, he's in trouble and needs help immediately.

Scenario 3: The mockingbird hops around the yard with little trouble, but no matter how long you watch him, he doesn't attempt to fly. There are other birds around, but you're worried about neighborhood cats. Does he need help?

Answer: No! That baby is a fledgling, and hopping around without flying is an important part of his maturation process. A fledgling songbird will look like an adult bird, except his tail feathers will be shorter (stubby-looking) and he may have a little baby fluff still on his head. While neighborhood cats are a real hazard to birds of all ages (WildCare encourages cat owners to keep their pets indoors, especially during wildlife baby season), a fledgling bird's parents are on the alert for dangers, and they are actively directing their young one to safety. They will also continue to feed him. Give fledglings their best chance at success by keeping people and pets away from them during this important part of their development.

How did you do with these scenarios? For more extensive information to help you determine if a wild animal needs rescue, click to read our Wildlife Rescue Guide!

<h1>Is that baby O-K?</h1>
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<td style="text-align: center;">In this video, WildCare Medical Staff examines a fawn to determine if he is orphaned or if he has been "kidnapped" and should be returned to his mother's care. Trouble viewing the video?<a href="http://youtu.be/_yMLZxzX7Ok" target="_blank"> Click to watch it on YouTube.</a> </td>
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<td width="252"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/fawn_feeding_standing.jpg" border="0" alt="Fawn receiving Pedialyte. Photo by Alison Hermance" width="300" height="388" /> </td>
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<td width="252">This wobbly-legged fawn learned quickly to suckle from a bottle. His eagerness to accept both the bottle and the relatively tasteless hydrating solution inside was an additional indication that he had been orphaned. Photo by Alison Hermance </td>
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<h3>Was this fawn kidnapped?</h3>
The Marin Humane Society (MHS) officer who brought this fawn to WildCare wasn't sure the baby deer actually needed to be admitted as a patient.
The family that found the fawn had contacted MHS about a dead doe, a female deer, earlier that day that had probably been hit by a car. 
Then the family saw this spotted fawn.
WildCare Medical Staff and the MHS officer speculated that he could be the fawn of the dead doe, or he could belong to a different doe entirely. It's fawn season, and if you look, you'll see many wobbly-legged little fawns right now. To make sure, the officer brought this baby to WildCare.
Medical Staff performed an exam, hoping that they would find the full belly and good hydration that indicated this baby's mother was alive and well. In that case, the fawn could be returned to his mother's care.
 Story continues below...
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<h3><a href="R?i=5gfp1jxTeYDo_rYhWYZn2A">Sponsor wild babies in Foster Care</a></h3>
WildCare works hard through education and outreach to prevent wild animal babies from being "kidnapped", and we do everything we can to reunite babies with their wild moms whenever possible.
But when a baby can't be returned to his parents, he must go into Foster Care at WildCare. This dedicated around-the-clock care for our most sensitive patients requires tremendous resources. You can help! <a href="R?i=pBksVSVuLnewIbPWVybW6g">Click
to donate now and sponsor the orphaned wild babies of spring!</a>
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<td><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/spacer2.gif" border="0" alt="spacer2.gif" width="5" height="5" /><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/fawn.jpg" border="0" alt="Fawn photo by Trish Carney" width="160" height="164" /></td>
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<td><a title="Click to donate now!" href="Donation2?idb=0&df_id=4220&4220.donation=root"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="../images/content/pagebuilder/17662.jpg" border="0" alt="Donate now button" width="137" height="26" /></a></td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/fawn_face_4-14.jpg" border="0" alt="Orphaned fawn at WildCare. Photo by Alison Hermance" width="252" height="263" /></td>
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<td align="left">After a couple of days in intensive care at WildCare, this little fawn has gone to our Foster Care Specialist where he will be raised with others of his kind until he's old enough to be released. Photo by Alison Hermance</td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/Sasso_fawn22.jpg" border="0" alt="Fawn in grass. Photo by Susan Sasso" width="252" height="364" /> </td>
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<td align="left">A fawn tucked into grass like this one probably doesn't need help. Leave that baby alone! Photo by Susan Sasso<a href="http://www.trishcarney.com" target="_blank"></a> </td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/fawn_SherryAntonoff.jpg" border="0" alt="Fawn on porch. Photo by Sherry Antonoff" width="252" height="291" /></td>
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<td align="left">Sometimes a mother deer leaves her fawn in what seems to us to be an odd location like this porch. This fawn is doing just as his mother told him, however, and staying still and quiet. Photo by Sherry Antonoff</td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/fawn_and_momv2.jpg" border="0" alt="Doe and fawn. Photo by Alison Hermance" width="252" height="226" /></td>
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<td align="left">It's fawn season! Photo out the car window by Alison Hermance</td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/poster_snip.jpg" border="0" alt="MMWD and WildCare poster" width="252" height="387" /></td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/Piazza_finches_48450005.jpg" border="0" alt="Orphaned baby finches. Photo by Melanie Piazza" width="252" height="200" /> </td>
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<td align="left">Baby birds still covered in fluff can't thermoregulate, so they need warmth and nourishment constantly. A baby that is cool to the touch needs help. Photo by Melanie Piazza </td>
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<td align="left"><img src="../images/content/pagebuilder/11960.jpg" border="0" alt="Fledgling mockingbird" width="216" height="220" /> </td>
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<td align="left">Fully-feathered fledglings can hop but not fly. Keep pets and people away from these young birds— their parents are still looking after them. Photo by Melanie Piazza </td>
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But the exam quickly revealed that this baby had an empty belly and was dehydrated, and
more tellingly, he had a bad case of diarrhea and fly eggs on his bottom that indictated he had not
received a healthy meal of mother's milk recently.
Clearly this baby was not a "kidnap" victim— he was orphaned and  would need to stay at WildCare to be raised with other orphaned fawns in our Foster Care system. 
How do you know if a wild animal needs your help?
Every spring WildCare admits a number of baby animals that have been
"kidnapped" by well-meaning people who found them alone and assumed they
needed help. While every wildlife rescue is done for the most
benevolent of reasons, "kidnapping" a healthy baby can have far-reaching
impacts on the health of both mom and baby.
The first things to look for if you think a wild animal of any age needs rescue are the Five C's. If an animal demonstrates any of these five symptoms, it is an emergency and he needs immediate help:
1. Is he Crying?
2. Is he Coming toward you (approaching people)?
3. Is he Covered with blood or insects?
4. Has he been Caught by a cat or a dog?
5. Is he Cold?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, immediately call WildCare's 24-hour Emergency Hotline at 415-456-7283 for
assistance and advice.
In the case of fawns, observing any one of the Five C's indicates that the baby probably does need help. A fawn's primary defense mechanism is to stay completely still and quiet, nestled into whatever spot his mother placed him while she went off to forage. 
Mother deer know that their presence near their bebies alerts predators to the fawns' presence, which puts them at risk. In order to keep her young safe, a doe will leave her fawn in a grassy area, often for as long as 12 hours, distracting predators away from her baby while she forages for food.
Fawns’ camouflage and their ability to stay still keep them safe from predators while the mother is away. When approached by a perceived predator (humans, pets or wildlife) a fawn’s instinctual response is to lay very low and not move at all. People often mistake this defensive behavior for injury, weakness or illness. 
But it isn't. A still, quiet fawn is a healthy fawn.
You should be worried if you see a fawn acting contrary to this normal behavior. If a fawn is up and walking around by itself, or is crying, call WildCare immediately at 415-456-SAVE (7283). What does a crying fawn sound like? <a href="DocServer/Sequence_02.mp3?docID=4101" target="_blank">Click for a recording of the heart-rending call a fawn makes when he's upset</a> (in this recording, the fawn is unhappy that we're late with his bottle).
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This recording was actually captured for a very specific purpose— to assist
us in reuniting healthy "kidnapped" fawns with their mothers. 
If a
mother deer is nearby and hears her baby crying, she will usually come
running. But, as you know, a healthy fawn knows his best self-defense is
to stay still and quiet. So a fawn being carried by Wildlife Hospital volunteers back to where he was found figures he'd best stay as quiet as possible until the predators (us!) go away.
Enter the recording of the hungry fawn. It is a very effective tool.
Fortunately, it is a complete myth that a mother wild animal won't accept her baby if he has human scent on him (it's not true about birds either!), so a mother deer attracted by crying calls will immediately take her baby back and lead him to a safer spot.
Say something about playing it and watching from a distance
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WildCare receives dozens of calls a week during fawn season from concerned people who find the little animals in their yards. With every caller, our Hotline Operators run through the Five C's. If the answer to any question is yes, they usually ask the caller to bring the fawn to WildCare.
During the month of April, WildCare and the Marin Municipal Water District have teamed up in a joint public awareness campaign to keep baby animals from being kidnapped this spring, but also to make sure babies in need actually get the care they need. 
<a href="DocServer/WildCare_and_MMWD_Fawns_4-14.pdf?docID=4102" target="_blank">Click to read the press release</a> sent to local media and look for articles in your local papers. MMWD also commissioned a wonderful poster to be distributed and hung in multiple locations informing people of the Five C's and the need to make sure a fawn really needs help before touching him. <a title="MMWD and WildCare Fawn Poster" href="DocServer/MMWD_Fawns_poster.pdf?docID=4103" target="_blank">Click for the poster.</a> 
Take the Five C's Quiz!
The Five C's are very obvious symptoms that indicate an animal needs
help. But sometimes it's not as clear whether your intervention would be
in the animal's best interest. 
Take a look at some actual scenarios from WildCare's records and see how you would respond: 
Scenario 1: A tiny fawn appears one
morning under the bushes next to your front porch. He's sitting completely still and isn't making a sound. The baby isn't very well
hidden, and there's no sign of the mother deer. Does she need help?
Answer: No! That baby is fine and does not need rescue. Deer, like Jackrabbits, will leave their young alone for up to twelve hours at a time while they forage. The babies know to stay still and quiet, tucked into the grass where their mother left them. Sometimes the mother deer makes a poor choice as to where her baby should spend the daylight hours, but she is probably nearby, and worried that a predator (you!) has discovered her fawn. Leave the fawn alone by removing yourself completely from the scene and eventually Mom will come back to retrieve her baby.
Scenario 2: Last night's wind left a lot
of debris in the park where you walk your dog. Your foot dislodges a leaf and
underneath you find a small fluff-covered bird. He's alive, but his little
belly is cool to the touch. Does she need help?
Answer: Yes! That baby definitely needs to come to WildCare. If a baby is cool or cold, he's in trouble and needs help immediately. 

Scenario 3: The
mockingbird hops around the yard with little trouble, but no matter how long
you watch him, he doesn't attempt to fly. There are other birds around, but
you're worried about neighborhood cats. Does she need help?
Answer: No! That baby is a fledgling, and hopping around without flying is an important part of his maturation process. A fledgling songbird will look like an adult bird, except his tail feathers will be shorter (stubby-looking) and he may have a little baby fluff still on his head. While neighborhood cats are a real hazard to birds of all ages (WildCare encourages cat owners to keep their pets indoors, especially during wildlife baby season), a fledgling bird's parents are on the alert for dangers, and they are actively directing their young one to safety. They will also continue to feed him. Give fledglings their best chance at success by keeping people and pets away from them during this important part of their development. 
How did you do with these scenarios? For more extensive information to help you determine if a wild animal needs rescue, click to read our <a title="Link to Wildlife Rescue Guide" href="PageServer?pagename=Animal_Emails_WildlifeRescueGuide_April2013">Wildlife Rescue Guide!</a>
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WildCare -- Was this fawn kidnapped?

Was this fawn kidnapped?

Was this fawn kidnapped?

Sponsor wild babies in Foster Care