Aaron Berscheid is a district wildlife officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Aaron covers the ìwildî side of Northeast El Paso County, including Black Forest, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan. He also covers some of Elbert County, north of U.S. Highway 24 and south of State Highway 86, including the towns of Elbert, Kiowa, Ramah, Simla, Matheson and a small portion of the Limon area.
Iím back!†I missed last monthís column due to the birth of my second child. Coincidentally, I realized that itís getting to be that time of year for wildlife to be having little ones as well.†So I was inspired to talk about some striking differences between how wild animals raise their babies compared to babies in the human world. And itís a good time to talk about how human interactions with wildlife babies should occur.It always amazes me how much human babies need their parents. There is virtually nothing human babies can do for themselves. Luckily, parents are wired to respond to our babiesí needs and will gladly sacrifice sleep and other normal activities to make sure our children thrive.†Deer, on the other hand, raise their fawns drastically differently than humans. A doe deer will leave her fawn as soon as possible after giving birth and cleaning the fawn. The fawn has a natural instinct to lay flat on the ground and stay put where mom left it. Mom will only visit its fawns to nurse them. And she will move her fawn occasionally. The fawn will have very little odor, which is the reason why they hunker down and stay put.†If a doe were to stay with its fawn all the time, it would put the fawn at risk because the doe is more visible and does have a smell that can attract predators.I bring up fawns because they present a particular challenge. Fawns are cute, helpless and tiny. And often they are alone when humans find them. Fawns seem to send our human parenting instincts into overdrive. Unfortunately, this often leads to ill-advised choices by many humans that are not in the best interest of the fawn.††Humans are wired to cuddle, carry and be hands-on with our children. But this instinct, when applied to fawns, can actually be fatal to the fawn.†Doe deer have been known to leave their fawns for up to three days at a time to go feed. Rarely are fawns abandoned by their doe.If you see a fawn, keep your distance!†You can take a picture (as long as you are not close enough to disturb it), but there is no need to ìrescueî the fawn. Also, if you stay near the deer waiting for mom to come back, you could be waiting a long time as you are likely scaring the doe away.†If the fawn is in a dangerous place (for example, on a road or in a window well) or you have verifiable proof that the mother has died and the fawns are truly abandoned, call Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help before you interfere.†If you feel that the fawn has been left too long, please call CPW before you do anything. A wildlife officer will come out and assess the situation. The best place for any fawn is to be under the care of the mother. If we take the fawn away from the mother for whatever reason, its chances of survival are dramatically decreased.†This rule to leave fawns alone applies to all young wildlife.†If you are worried about a young animal, you can reach the CPW office during normal business hours at 719-227-5200. Or when the office is closed, you can call Colorado State Patrolís dispatch number at 719-544-2424 and they will contact a CPW wildlife officer.In the coming months, Iíll share more of those stories as I write about wildlife issues in our community. Got a question, problem or column idea, please email me at aaron.berscheid@state.co.us or call me at 719-227-5231.†I might even answer your question in a future installment of ìWildlife Matters.î
