Elation to devastation

FUDGEY · #1 (**permalink**) 21-05-2009, 09:07 PM

Just back in from taking some photos of the badgers tonight and got some of my best shots yet. As I was coming back from the sett a Roe Deer fawn only a few days old jumped up from the nettles and fell in a stream. It was steep sided banking both sides and it was about 1 and a half foot deep. I had no option but to jump straight in and rescue it. I got it back up to its original spot and left it there. A couple of questions will it get too cold and perhaps die and secondly will the mother abandon it as I touched it? I did put my ahnd up and sleeves so it was not in contact with my skin. I am truly gutted and hope it will be alright, please can someone in the know try answer my questions.

wildliferescuer · #2 (**permalink**) 21-05-2009, 09:12 PM

Don't worry about the mother abandoning it - she won't I can assure you.
Hopefully it won't be too cold tonight so the fawn should be ok. It isn't good for them to get wet but if it moves about tonight with its mother this will help to dry it off & will prevent it getting cold.
Fingers crossed.

FUDGEY · #3 (**permalink**) 21-05-2009, 09:34 PM

That's the best news I have heard for a long time. Thank god, it's pretty mild tonight and I've just went out to the car to check and it's 11oC. Thank you so much for the quick reply, although it couldn't be helped I felt so guilty and would have had trouble sleeping tonight worrying about it. Your a star.

Wild-Woman · #4 (**permalink**) 22-05-2009, 06:44 AM

These wild animals survive against great odds you know. Once it's fed and cleaned up by it's mother, I'm certain it'll be fine.

FUDGEY · #5 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 10:36 AM

Was up earlier today and I seen mother and fawn together (from a distance) in exact same spot. All is well thankfully, I am a happy chappy today. Thanks to all that helped ease my concious when I was a worried man.

Jason Green · #6 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 10:58 AM

Great work there, Fudgey - nice story...

Beekeeper · #7 (**permalink**) 29-05-2009, 08:08 PM

For 31 years i was a part time retained fireman, one call we had was to a not so young fawn in a concrete pit in the grounds of a very large house in the forest.
The pit was around 12 ft long, 10 ft wide and 8 ft deep and there was about 2 1/2 ft of water in it.

The fawn had been there sometime before anyone noticed and it was cold, very tired an once it saw us lot, in a pannick, it tried repeatedly to jump out of the pit but just crashed into the sides cutting its knees in the process, my job as officer in charge was to make a decision to rescue it as soon as possible, so i jumped in and tried to lift it out with the help of some of the other crew members, once its legs were off the ground it kicked me like mad, broke my watch, bruises all over my legs, bashed in the chin with its head and so on.
However, we managed to lift it out, rolled it onto the ground at the side of the pit and with that the fawn stood up ran a few paces, stopped and looked back to us as if to say thanks and just trotted off, we were all really pleased with the result, the vet in attendance said that as the fawn had managed to get up and run off it would survive without any ill affects but was a bit concerned about the cuts to its legs and hoped they would not get infected.

The reason i am telling you this story is because although in this case the fawn would have died, in the wild often animals get into trouble but generally manage to sort things out for themselves, in the case of the fawn in the stream, chances it would have swam down river until it found a place where the bank was lower and could climb out, as for being concerned about the mother abandoning it after you had touched it, no problem there at all, its mum would recognise it as her offspring and just carry on as normal, i bet she was close by watching your every move.

BK