Twice kidnapped, one final release

A newborn black-tailed deer fawn was found lying near the highway in Shawnigan Lake on June 3.

Concerned about the dangerous location, the well-meaing finder scooped up the fawn and brought him to the BC SPCA Wild ARC. Rehabilitation staff determined he was in good condition and likely left overnight by his mom while she went to feed. Wild ARC staff immediately returned the fawn and successfully reintroduced him to his mother, who was still in the area looking for him. Days later though, he would be kidnapped again by another well-meaning person, but sadly this time not taken to Wild ARC right away.

At the end of June, Wild ARC received an email from a member of the public who had been keeping and feeding a fawn in her home for several weeks. Friends had told her keeping the fawn was illegal, and because it had an unusual ear tag they advised her to call Wild ARC. It turned out to be the same deer fawn that had been reintroduced near Shawnigan Lake by Wild ARC staff.

The young fawn, now kidnapped twice, was too friendly as he had now been imprinted to think people were his family. Although he was in good condition, he was lethargic and very bloated from what he was fed.

Within a week in care, the fawn began eating a little on his own, but he was having constant digestive problems related to the bloat. He was isolated from the other fawns and was frequently monitored and eventually put on fawn probiotics. By the end of July, the fawn was eating well, gaining weight, and his stomach issues passed. He was able to rejoin his deer family shortly afterwards.

The young fawn (pictured below, on left) grew from his original weight of 3.3 kg to over 15 kg, and was released today in a remote location along with the rest of this year's fawns.

The BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) rescues and rehabilitates thousands of wild animals each year. Your gift can help give an orphaned or injured animal a second chance. Please donate today.

The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public donations. Our mission is to prevent cruelty and to promote the welfare of animals through a wide range of services, including cruelty investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.