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TextBest Advice When Encountering Fawns: Hands Off!
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
News Release: Fawn Season/tjw
April 28, 2009
Best Advice When Encountering Fawns: Hands Off!
White-tail deer give birth April through July, with most births occurring in June. Each spring, a doe generally produces one to three fawns and routinely leaves them alone for most of the day to search for food. There is a high population of deer in our county, so it is possible you might encounter fawns that are all alone, lying quietly in the woods or other areas. Good Samaritans presume that their mothers have abandoned them and attempt a “rescue.” The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, however, strongly advises against this. They report, “more than 75 percent of fawns ‘rescued’ every spring should have been left alone. Most wild animals are dedicated parents and will not abandon their young, but they do leave them alone for long periods of time while looking for food.” Also, they will not return to the area while you are present in order to protect their fawn’s hiding spot.
In most cases, the best advice to would-be rescuers of any wild animal is to leave them alone. If you come across a fawn that is clearly injured, there is evidence its mother is dead or you still feel the fawn is in need of help, call the Wildlife Rescue League Hotline at 703-440-0800 before making any attempts at “rescue.”
You can visit these Web sites for more information on orphaned or injured wildlife:
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