Photos from Cal Fire
In the midst of working to contain a wildfire that spread across 1,475 acres in Shasta County, California, earlier this week, firefighters found and rescued two weak and hungry fawns from a small area of grass that was surrounded by burned ground.
“@CALFIRESHU E2463 firefighters found two orphaned fawns, probably less than one week old, today while working on the #CreekFire,” the department shared on Twitter along with precious photos of them with the baby animals. “The fawns were taken in by the Haven Wild Care Fawn Program for evaluation and care.”
Engineer Patrick Buchner explained to KRCR News that while taking a moment to re-hydrate, the firefighters heard faint squealing coming from the bushes behind them. To their surprise, they discovered the fawns.
The animals, who were most-likely born during the fire, had not been cleaned or groomed which is an indicator that their mother was “clearly gone and wouldn’t have been able to help the baby deer.”
“Dogs and cats, we deal with quite a bit but I’ve never had to care for some baby deer before so it was kind of weird to figure out the best care for them,” Buchner told the news outlet. “We went back to the fire engine, got them in the A/C and one of the firefighters actually grabbed a medical glove, filled it full of water. We poked a hole in it and they actually started to drink water.”
Heroes!
As previously reported by WAN, fawns found alone have usually not been abandoned but instead temporarily left by their mother who is either gathering food or hiding nearby. In the majority of these cases, people should leave the fawns, who are scentless and safe from predators, alone.
As per Haven Wild Care Fawn Rescue, a fawn needs help when it is found “moving around, crying for its mother, or if it appears injured, bleeding or ill.”
Fortunately, the fawns saved from the fire this week are reportedly recovering and will be taken back out into the wild as soon as possible.
As of yesterday, Cal Fire officials reported that the fire, which started on Sunday, was 75% contained.
People who find a fawn that needs to be rescued in or around the Sonoma, California, should call the Haven Wild Care Fawn Program at (707) 931-4550.
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