When a fawn loses its mother, whether due to predation, automobile accidents, or other tragic events, it tugs at the heartstrings. We can’t help but wonder: What will happen to the poor orphaned baby deer? Will another doe take it under her care?
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Yes, it is possible for orphaned fawns to be adopted by other does, but the chances are relatively low. Fawns have the best chance of surviving if they are taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility.
In this approximately 3000 word article, we will explore the question of whether another doe will adopt an orphaned fawn in depth. We’ll look at deer behavior and biology to understand the mother-fawn bond. We’ll examine what factors influence whether a doe will accept a fawn that is not her own.
And we’ll discuss the best practices for human intervention when a fawn loses its mother.
The Strong Maternal Bond Between Does and Fawns
Fawns Are Highly Dependent at Birth
White-tailed deer fawns are incredibly vulnerable when they are born. They weigh only around 5 to 10 pounds at birth and are not yet strong enough to walk steadily. Their instincts drive them to lie completely still and quiet for the first week of their life while their mothers go off to forage.
The hiding strategy helps protect the little fawns from predators. During this critical early stage, the survival of a fawn relies entirely on its mother and her ability to nourish and protect it.
Does Invest Significant Energy in Their Fawns
In the months prior to giving birth, pregnant does work hard to build up fat stores which enable them to produce the rich, high-fat milk that rapidly grows a fawn. For 2 to 3 months, the doe remains constantly attentive – feeding her fawn around 5 times per day and grooming it to strengthen their scent bond. The intensive commitment means does can typically only care for 1 or 2 fawns at a time.
However, their maternal dedication and care sees around 75% of newborn fawns through to their first autumn. While the statistics indicate most does manage to raise their offspring successfully, the few months after fawning remain tiring and stressful.
The table below reveals the substantial energy investment a doe puts into rearing each fawn:
| Timeframe | Doe Activity |
|---|---|
| 3-4 months before birth | Build up fat stores to fuel milk production |
| 2 weeks after birth | Act as sole food source via nutritious milk – up to 8-10 feedings daily |
| 2 weeks to 3 months | Remain vigilant and keep fawn securely hidden to avoid predation |
Does and Fawns Develop a Unique Scent Bond
In addition to the care the doe provides, mother and fawn also establish a special scent bond that cements their relationship. Does memorize the smell of their newborn within a few hours of giving birth. When a fawn nurses, it picks up the doe’s scent which then covers its fur.
In times of perceived danger, the fawn drops into a curled position where the doe’s distinct fragrance around its rump is most detectable. This helps the watchful mother quickly recognize her offspring.
Other deer species employ similar scent-based identification systems to reinforce the connection between female deer and their young.
Challenges for Orphaned Fawns
Vulnerable to Exposure, Starvation, and Predators
Orphaned fawns are extremely vulnerable without their mothers to protect and care for them. Newborn fawns rely completely on their mothers’ milk for sustenance in their first weeks of life. Without this essential nutrition, orphaned fawns can quickly become malnourished and starve (Humane Society).
In addition, fawns depend on their mothers to regulate their body temperature. Baby deer lack the fat and fur coats to maintain warmth. If orphaned fawns cannot find shelter, they are susceptible to hypothermia and heat distress. Tragically, many orphaned fawns succumb to exposure and die.
Bereft of their mothers’ protection, these young deer also become easy targets for predators like coyotes, bears, bobcats, and pet dogs. Unable to escape danger on their own, their survival rates are grim without intervention.
Difficult for Orphans to Integrate into New Herds
If rescued and rehabilitated, attempts to release orphaned fawns back into the wild come with their own difficulties. Fawns imprint on their mothers from birth and begin learning essential survival skills like foraging and predator awareness from them (Penn State Extension).
Without this early life education, orphaned fawns released alone often cannot adapt to life in the wild.
Alternatives like placing orphans with wild foster deer herds or deer farms are also not guaranteed solutions. Deer groups are extremely territorial and wary of outsiders. They may reject or even attack unfamiliar fawns trying to integrate into the herd.
Does Are Reluctant to Adopt Unknown Fawns
On very rare occasions, a doe deer who has lost her fawn may adopt an orphaned fawn. However, a mother doe bonds with her fawn at birth and is very unlikely to accept a strange fawn (Department of Interior).
The orphan would still be viewed as an intruder by the adoptive mother and likely denied access to feed.
Even less probable – a pregnant doe deer may accept an orphaned fawn before she gives birth. Yet once she gives birth to her own fawn, she will reject the adopted one. Sadly, orphaned deer face steep odds finding a new mother figure in the wild.
Factors That Improve Adoption Chances
Age and Health of the Orphaned Fawn
The age and health of an orphaned fawn play a big role in its chances of being adopted by another doe. Generally, the younger and healthier a fawn is, the more likely it will be adopted. Newborn fawns only a few days or weeks old stand the best chance of being accepted by a new mother.
Their size makes them less intimidating to adopt and their minimal food requirements are easier for a doe to provide. Older fawns who are newly orphaned but still in good health also have decent prospects.
However, as they grow bigger, a doe may be less inclined to take on the burden of feeding and caring for them. Malnourished, injured or diseased fawns are the least likely to be adopted because of the extra care and resources they require.
Availability of Nursing Does
The availability of does who have milk and the maternal drive to adopt is key. Most does won’t take in more fawns than they can nurse and care for. The best candidates are does who have recently given birth but lost their fawns.
Their milk production will still be high, and their maternal instincts will be primed for nurturing young. Barren does who have not reproduced may also sometimes adopt if their mothering urge is strong.
However, does who are still caring for their existing fawns will rarely adopt orphans since their resources are already tapped.
According to wildlife experts, the ideal adoption scenario is matching a single orphan with a doe who has lost her entire litter. Statistics show orphaned twins or triplets have a harder time being placed together with one adoptive doe.
Spacing out orphaned fawns with several potential adoptive does can improve overall adoption success.
The Doe’s Maternal Drive
Even if a doe has milk and availability, she may not necessarily take in an orphan. The strength of her maternal drive can sway her willingness to adopt. Mothering instincts in does are complex. Some readily accept orphans as their own, especially if the fawn is young.
Other does may be more selective or reject orphans altogether. Scientists don’t fully understand the triggers that compel a doe to adopt, but hormones, experience raising previous fawns, genetics and environmental factors all likely play a role.
Orphaned fawns who display vitality, Gleeking (a scent-based behavior), and attempts to nurse may stimulate a doe’s dormant mothering drive. Familiarity with the orphan’s mother may also promote adoption in some cases.
Patience is required, as it may take days or weeks before a doe accepts an orphaned fawn as her adopted baby.
Best Practices for Orphaned Fawns
Contact Wildlife Rehabilitators Immediately
If you come across an orphaned or injured fawn, the best course of action is to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator right away. These amazing folks are trained to provide appropriate care and have the facilities to house wild animals until they can be released back into their natural habitats.
Try doing an online search for “wildlife rehabilitator” plus your city or county to find one near you. You can also check sites like Animal Help Now which maintain databases of rehabbers across North America. The sooner they can get involved, the better chance the little one has of survival.
Do Not Disturb or Handle Healthy Fawns
If you spot a fawn that seems healthy and uninjured, do not try to touch, move, or take it home. A doe will often leave her fawn hidden in tall grass or bushes while she goes off to graze and browse. She does this to keep predators from detecting the vulnerable baby by its scent.
The fawn instinctively remains motionless and quiet, which is its best protection.
As hard as it is to walk away, interfering with a healthy fawn almost never turns out well. You risk separating it from its mother permanently. If it seems restless, crying loudly or approaching people, then it likely needs help. Otherwise, let it be and observe from a distance.
Supervise Fawns Waiting for Rescue
If an orphaned or injured fawn does require intervention, keep an eye on it until the rehabber arrives, but do not try feeding it. Attempting to give food or water to a wild baby can seriously harm it.
It’s normal for an orphaned fawn to seem scared and call out while waiting. But try to minimize stress by allowing it space, keeping activity and noise around it to a minimum. The rehab team will take over providing specialized medical care and eventual release back into the wild.
Adoption Success Stories
Rehabilitators Can Foster Bonding
Deer rehabilitators can play an integral role in facilitating adoption success stories. By housing orphaned fawns together, rehabbers allow the young deer to bond and imprint on each other. This social bonding makes it more likely that an adult doe will accept the orphaned deer into her family unit.
Rehabilitators use techniques like bottle-feeding orphaned fawns in the presence of other fawns or adult does to encourage motherly behaviors from the adults. With patience and persistence, the does often warm up to the orphans.
According to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center, their fawn rehabbers have a success rate of over 90% for getting does to adopt orphaned fawns into their families.
Persistence Pays Off in Some Cases
There are heartwarming stories of orphaned fawns being adopted by surrogate deer mothers after much patience and persistence by rehabilitators. A fawn rehabilitation center in Wisconsin told the tale of an orphaned fawn named Dodger who lost his mother after she was hit by a car.
The rehabilitators worked for weeks to get a doe named Molly to accept Dodger. After many attempts, Molly finally bonded with the 3-week old fawn and adopted him as her own. Dodger stayed with Molly’s wild herd for the rest of the summer under her motherly care.
Another story comes from a rehabber who tried for over a month to get a doe to accept two orphaned fawns. She gradually moved the fawns’ enclosure closer to the deer families and made sure the fawns were hand-fed in view of the does.
Finally, one doe bonded with the orphaned siblings and took them in as her own. Rehabilitators emphasize that while adoption success is not guaranteed, persistence and patience can sometimes lead to beautiful stories.
Deer Society Shows Some Flexibility
The deer adoption success stories show the somewhat flexible nature of deer society. While does are very selective about which fawns they adopt, they do show some ability to take in unrelated orphans in the right circumstances.
According to wildlife ecologists, only about 10-20% of orphaned fawns are adopted by an unrelated doe. However, the fact that any are adopted at all shows that deer have some capacity for altruistic behavior and flexibility in their family structures.
In the wild, fawns likely have a better chance of being adopted if they can mimick natural fawn distress calls and appeal to a maternal doe’s instincts. Overall, the adoptive behavior of does is influenced by many factors including resources, social structure, maternal drive, and persistence of the orphaned fawns in seeking acceptance.
When rehabilitators can create the ideal conditions, magical adoption success stories are possible though relatively rare.
Conclusion
While healthy does are sometimes willing to adopt orphaned fawns, we can’t rely on this happening. Our best option is to alert wildlife experts so they can assess the fawn’s chances of survival and facilitate adoption or rehabilitation.
With quick action, many of these resilient babies can get the care they need to grow into independent deer.
In extremely rare cases, a doe may even adopt a fawn of a different deer species–evidence that deer society has some flexibility when it comes to saving fawns in need. But in general, orphaned fawns face steep odds without human help.
By understanding deer behavior and supporting rehabilitators, we can make a difference for these vulnerable young animals when tragedy strikes.
