They arrived as orphans — but now, five months later — a group of young deer are being returned to the wild.
The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation says it released seven mule and white-tailed deer fawns back into the wild this week after staff were able to nurse them back to health and determine they were healthy and old enough to fend for themselves.
The AIWC said the fawns arrived at the centre “in immediate need of help,” after being injured and possibly inadvertently “kidnapped” from their mothers.
“It is totally normal for mother deer to leave the fawns alone for large parts of the day,” said Scottie Potter, communications co-ordinator for the AIWC.
“However, some people mistakenly pick them up thinking they are abandoned, when they are totally fine.”
Potter said the AIWC will sometimes try to reunite the fawn with its mother if they can be sure the mother is still in the area where the fawn was found. However, that’s often not possible.
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These fawns, when brought to the centre, “were too young to survive on their own,” Potter said.
The fawns were fed specially-made formula for the first few weeks at the centre and were so young they were unable to relieve themselves without staff assistance.
After being weaned, they were transitioned to a leaf-based diet that the centre said required staff to gather up to 180 kg of leafy browse each day.
“Staff took precautions to try to limit their contact with humans,” Potter said.
“Those caring for the fawns are required to dress in a full jumpsuit and mask and limit the amount of speaking they do so the fawns don’t become habituated to human voices.”
The AIWC described the animals as among the most demanding patients that come into their care, with the cost of rehabilitation being over $1,300 per fawn.
Asked what the animals’ chances of survival are now that they have been released, Potter said the centre is not sure.
But she said without the AIWC’s intervention, the animals would not have survived, so now they’re “being given a second chance.”
The charity said it relies on public fundraising and donations to cover the cost of care for orphaned and injured wildlife and that it has already started accepting donations to prepare for next spring’s fawning season.
More information on the centre is available on its website.
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