I had this little one visit us the other day. The dogs were outside and barking up a storm and when I went to investigate this little cutie was what had their tails in a twist. Well, Ginger doesn’t have a tail but Nikita does. Ginger was being brave while she had back up and barking from atop the patio while Nikita was down close to the baby. Neither one of them would get close so the baby just walked past them and jumped onto the patio. Ginger ran under the bushes and Nikita barked from the steps. I felt sorry for the deer, it didn’t know what to do but obviously wasn’t afraid of the dogs or me. This little deer must have just been born because its legs were still wobbly. I’m calling the deer “it” because I can’t tell if its male or female and I wasn’t looking underneath to find out. The poor little thing was following me around the patio and crying, it was heartbreaking. It was lost without its mom and just wanted comfort but I knew I couldn’t touch it and leave a human scent on it. I was just hoping the mom would come back for it and wasn’t hit by a car. It jumped down into the herb garden and went under the deck and after I put my two killers in the house I went out to look for it but it was gone.
I found out from a neighbor who cuts our lawn that there are two babies the mother doe hid in our bushes at the back of the property. One of them came out to run alongside the lawnmower so he stopped mowing. He’s a hunter so he knows all about the habits of the deer around here. He told me the mother hides the babies during the day to keep them from the coyotes since they have no scent yet and she does. I also learned that it was a good thing I didn’t touch them and leave a human scent on them (although I really did want to pet it and comfort it). Then the mama doe goes down to the swamp for the day or into one of the hay fields around here and comes back at night. So that was my wildlife lesson for the week.
Here are a few pictures of Bambi:
 |
| "The Mighty Hunter" |
 |
| "And you call yourself a ferocious German Shepherd. Ha! I'm not scared of you!" |
Adorable. I always thought the whole human scent thing was a myth. It was really that we don't want wild animals to get used to humans in order to increase their survival chances. Interesting what the hunter neighbor said about them. I do love how innocent the little ones are. I've got another baby bunny hanging out at my place, and it's not only used to me, but to my Mule too. I have to be careful not to run over it.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful, innocent creature.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience and photo sequence!!! I am glad mom is still in the picture or else you'd end up with two deer in your barn! :) The dogs are making me laugh - a big adventure for all. Thank you for sharing the photos - absolutely adorable and so fun to see.
ReplyDeleteHi GHM, hope you're enjoying your summer :)
ReplyDeleteSuch an sweet little baby, too too cute!! How wonderful that you got such good pictures of it. As for the doggies, oh dear, they do make me laugh; I wonder what they thought it was.
I'm glad mama deer is still around. I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to resist comforting the baby. And thank your neighbour for the wildlife lesson, very interesting :)
Oh my goodness, you got some priceless photos. Yes, we found all that out one year when we found a fawn in our pasture. Apparently, it's true, they don't have a scent and predators can't find them. It scares me when we cut our fields. And, how do the mama's find them if they leave their spot? They're so vulnerable and so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh wow it is so cute!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cutie! I was just about to tell you that the momma's leave their baby's all day but always come back for them at night so not to worry unless it gets dark out and is still alone. That little fella does look tiny and young! Good things your dogs are such sweeties and didn't hurt the little fawn!
ReplyDeleteSo darn adorable.
ReplyDeleteYour shepherd.... haha, Saint (my shepherd) tells me that she's sure that he was just being polite because it was a baby (instead of eating it whole).
Saint also reminds me to tell Mr Ferocious that a mama dear almost killed her (LITERALLY), so he should try to steer clear of protective Mamas (good advice on any day).
:-)
So cute :D
ReplyDeleteI stumbled on a fresh baby stashed behind my manure pile a few weeks ago - one of a set of twins. Not only does the mom leave them alone, but separate. Your pictures are fantastic A!
Excellent photos of this sweet baby. So brave.
ReplyDeleteSO sweet!! What a fun experience, your photos are fantastic! Hard to resist to coddling it. The human scent baby thing applies to just about every species of wild life. We keep seeing fawns on our land all alone, now I know why. Hunters would know, the good ones only hunt per warranted conditions. I don't like it, but understand it. Thanks for sharing the cuteness!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! Adorable!!
ReplyDelete