Lambi

[XLFD]

Sometimes a "feelgood" story doesn't quite hit the mark with those used to looking at things objectively.  Take for instance a story airing just last night in the Mason County Press about a chance encounter in Grant Township.

Deputy Lamb’s fawn

GRANT TOWNSHIP — A fawn that lost its mother was most likely saved today by Mason County Sheriff Dep. Adam Lamb. Lamb said he was on patrol on North Quarterline Road, near Forest Trail, when he spotted the fawn running into the road and then into the weeds. “Something just didn’t seem right,” Lamb said.

So, Lamb called Kathleen Babbin of Misty Bend Wildlife Refuge in Pentwater. Babbin is licensed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to rehabilitate mammals.
“She said a deer that size wouldn’t be found more than 10 feet away from its mother at this age. She said it was likely that the mother abandoned the fawn or the mother had died. By me describing that the fawn had white gums, bent ears and curved spots, Kathleen could tell it was malnourished.”
Lamb took the fawn to Babbin’s place where she will attempt to get it healthy again. 

This story lends itself to being spread by other media as they attempt to get out some good news to counter all the bad they normally report on, as we see in the coverage by WZZM- Mason Co Deputy Rescues Fawn.

This story, however, saddens me in that a fawn, which I will call Lambi, appears to have been taken out of the wild prematurely and against normal lawful protocol.  The media report on the issue without discussing what those issues are, and what would be the sensible thing to do for such encounters by the public-- if they weren't immune from most prosecutions like deputies are.

These recommendations come from the Michigan DNR and some are part of state law.  In their public resource DNR: Keep Michigan's wildlife wild, they advise:

"Female deer typically birth their fawns in May and June. A newborn fawn is unsure of its footing and is unable to keep up with its mother. So, the mother deer hides her small, spotted fawn in a secluded spot for safe keeping.
The mother deer then intentionally leaves her fawn alone to help increase its chances of survival.
Beyond the spotted camouflage and the instinct to lie very still, fawns have an additional survival adaptation. Fawns are born with very little scent, making it challenging for predators to find them.
“An adult deer, however, has plenty of scent to it, and – being a large animal – is fairly easy to spot,” Schauer said. “So, rather than hang around and draw attention to where she has carefully hidden her fawn, the mother deer opts to graze elsewhere.”
The doe returns periodically to nurse her fawn and is usually not too far away. It doesn’t take long before the fawn is strong enough to keep up with its mother and then has a better chance of outrunning a predator.
Fawns are rarely abandoned."

They also have an instructional video for the public:  

This MI DNR link further advises that it is not uncommon for deer to leave their fawns unattended for up to eight hours at a time and that the mother deer will return for her fawns when she feels it is safe, but she may not return if people or dogs are present.  These DNR guidelines are regularly shared with the media around this time because it is not uncommon for hikers to come across a seemingly abandoned fawn and unintentionally harm its chances of survival by adopting them (which is illegal without proper licensing) or calling in rehabilitation experts when they are not needed.

In Lambi's case, there is some minor curling of his ear tips which does indicate some dehydration may be at hand, however, it should be noted that the area where he was found lacked any significant body of water in the general vicinity (see the map below):

Additionally, this has been an atypical late May period with six prior consecutive days with temperatures over 75 degrees, Monday and Tuesday reaching 90 degrees.  Lambi would be partially dehydrated in short order after wandering about even if he had nursed within hours of being found.  Instinct for fawns in Michigan likely doesn't cover what to do when the temperatures are consistently over 20 degrees higher than the usual average.  

In contrast to what the DNR relates as fact, Rehabilitator Babbin reportedly says these fawns are rarely more than 10 feet from their mother and that it was likely that the mother had abandoned Lambi (or died). 

Had Deputy Lamb actually found a dead mother deer along the road nearby, it would be hard to quibble that his act was anything other than humane.  Since the mother was likely foraging for enough food and water for two at the time of Lambi's discovery, his removal of the fawn may be anything but.  If Lamb was personally concerned for Lambi's safety and for the waste of county resources in travelling 60+ miles to drop off the fawn in rehab, why did he not just wait until after his shift was ended to check and see whether Lambi's mother showed up?  Few of us could justify this action to our employers when working on company time.

Can it not be likened to some mother leaving her child(ren) alone and protected  in a locked, air-conditioned car as she enters a grocery store for a few minutes to get food, only to come out and find her car window shattered by a police officer and her child(ren) taken from her by the state (not to mention her facing charges)?   Is it humane when this happens, and worthy of a feelgood article?

Undoubtedly, this superficially heart-warming story of a sheriff's deputy 'saving' an 'abandoned' fawn from the cruelness of nature has been shared in order to drum up even more support for the Road Patrol Millage in the August 7 primary.  The millage will allow for four additional road patrol deputies for the Mason County Sheriff's Office, and definitely save more forsaken young fawns found along the roadside if it is passed.

Conversely, it should make one wonder why we would need any more road deputies if they take hours out of their work day already in order to separate fawns like Lambi from their mothers in non-essential, nonsensical public actions.

[Willy]

It does sound like errors in judgement were made by both the police and the rehab  expert. The video posted above is what I have always learned about what to do if a fawn is found in the woods.  Thanks for the information X. Again you are doing the job the other media cannot seem to perform.

[XLFD]

I can commiserate with Deputy Lamb and others who find a vulnerable fawn in the forest and want to help.  My brother found a fawn in one of his property's thickets and properly stayed his distance before noticing that same fawn later that day and the next in the same area.  This may have been one of those rarely abandoned fawns, as it had what looked like a fair-sized tumor on its head which may have affected the poor fawn's ability to survive; he wasn't able to move around very good.  We tried to help, but the fawn had seemingly lost the will to live and died shortly thereafter.