Baby deer was dehydrated and had injured nose. NC wildlife rehabilitators have it now.
The baby was dehydrated and had an injured nose.
But the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office didn’t call for paramedics to take the juvenile to the hospital.
Injured and orphaned fawns go to wildlife rehabilitators.
A Chatham County Planning Department employee found the baby deer just outside their office building in Pittsboro on Friday morning and called the sheriff’s Animal Resource Center for help, according to a news release.
Normally, experts advise leaving fawns where you find them and not handling them unless you know they have been on their own for 24 hours. Most of the time their mother is nearby, some of the time watching you.
But when ARC Officer Karen Rogers saw the fawn had a nose injury and that its ears showed signs of dehydration, she knew the “bustling downtown area” was not safe for the young animal, the news release stated.
The center contacted Holly’s Nest Wildlife Rehabilitation, a nonprofit in nearby Sanford that agreed to care for the fawn until it is healthy and mature enough to be returned to its natural habitat.
“The Chatham Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center extends thanks to the Chatham County Planning Department employee for their quick response and to Holly’s Nest Wildlife Rehabilitation for their ongoing commitment to local wildlife,” the release stated.
What to do if you find an injured fawn
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission offers this advice on its website:
- If the fawn is able to move on its own, then it’s likely not injured. Best thing to do is just leave it alone.
- If the fawn is not moving, but still very young, then it’s likely not injured. Very young fawns (for the first 2 to 3 weeks of age) by instinct do not move. They may lie perfectly still even if they are out in the middle of an open area. This is an instinct to protect them from predators. The mother licks the fawn to reduce any scent that could attract a predator. Best thing to do is just leave it alone.
- If the fawn is unable to move from the site where found, then go to the bottom of the website page tinyurl.com/yh5kjev7 to find a fawn rehabilitator near you.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Baby deer was dehydrated and had injured nose. NC wildlife rehabilitators have it now.."