Sherry Garris and I were in the parking lot in front of her office and That Pizza Place when we saw a doe come running down Beech Mountain Parkway, then suddenly stop and just stare at us like she was trying to tell us something. We talked to her and she just stood there so Sherry took a couple of steps toward her to get her to move off the Parkway. She jumped across the road but stayed close.
About that time, a visitor walked up and said there was a fawn lying in the ditch alongside the Parkway so we investigated and found her/him lying very still (just as their moms teach them to do) but dangerously close to the road. Having had very recent experience of another situation similar to this and calling Leslie Hayhurst at Genesis, I told the visitor we needed to get the fawn to a safer location close to the area. We found a grassy, flat area across the road within 20' of where the fawn was found and the visitor gently picked the fawn up and moved him/her to that area. Within 20 minutes of the move, Sherry was on the phone to me letting me know mom had come back and taken the fawn to a new destination. Great stuff!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote: I called Leslie back to get some information from her on these situations that we could post here. Note that not all situations are critical to relocating or assisting a fawn. The following are Leslie's comments:
"It's wildlife baby season! The cute factor is high! But beware of doing the wrong thing when you are trying to 'help' and orphan.
Fawns are born and retain the protective camouflage of blending in with the environment not only with their color, but the lack of scent for a predator to detect. It will take a couple of weeks for this tiny baby, born the size of a Chihuahua, to be able to run with the herd. Nature has the perfect answer, though. Mom will visit the baby only every 6-8 hours. She is very close by, watching her precious baby. But, if she lingers too long, her scent also lingers, alerting the predators of easy prey. She will feed her fawn and clean her and leave. The same is true with bunnies. Move or touch an orphan only if you are CERTAIN that it is in iminent danger or injured. In the case of the former, often moving a fawn 15 feet or so to keep it from on coming traffic or out of a creek is all that is required for the mom to safely retrieve it. NEVER FEED AN ORPHAN. You won't have the proper formula, the tools or the experience to do it properly. If there is a question, call your wildlife rehabilitator. They can be located by calling your local wildlife officer, animal control, police, humane society or vet. Let those who are experienced and permitted to do their job."
Leslie Hayhurst is a registered nurse and director of Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary. The phone number for the sanctuary is 828-387-2979. Please visit their location on Beech Mountain next to Buckeye Recreation Center and their website at http://www.genesis-wildlife.org/ and contribute to this worthy cause. This is the only rehab facility on Beech Mountain and Leslie and her staff are dedicated to the health and safety of injured and orphaned animals. They also depend heavily on individual contributions. Thanks from all of us, Leslie!
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