The Wildlife Watch Hotline, 877-WILDHELP fields hundreds of calls starting late March and lasting through August when it slows down as baby season comes to a close.
While a “hotline for wildlife” may sound a bit impersonal, the calls that come our way can bring immense joy or grief at a personal level. They also bring the satisfaction that Wildlife Watch is helping animals in distress.
Some calls will always be remembered. On June 22, a woman in North Carolina called about a fawn who didn’t sound well. She had left him alone assuming that the Mom would return to nurse. Something about the description raised a red flag, and I asked her to go back to check.
She did, and texted the following: “When I went out to pick up the drenched, cold, bug-covered fawn, who seemed barely alive, the mom gave a huff in alert. I had seen her approach the fawn several hours before and hoped all was well.”
She carried the fawn back to her house planning to give him an electrolyte solution that we had suggested, and we were both looking forward to good news. Instead, she later texted, “The little deer has died.” The words struck hard.
She then asked if she should take the fawn back out for the mom to have closure, or would it not matter. I had never been asked that question, and thought, yes it matters, yes put him out so his mom understands that her milk will not be drunk, and so that she can mourn. We don’t know for sure what a deer mom feels who loses her offspring, but we can easily extrapolate from how we would feel. One thing that is certain, our callers are the most compassionate people on the planet.