Young fawn hidden in meadow. 



Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 



Among younger bucks, antagonism may 

 be displayed at any season. 



In Yosemite, most fawns are born in 

 July, but they may arrive as early as 

 June or as late as August. About a quar- 

 ter of them are twins; very rarely trip- 

 lets, or even quadruplets, may be born. 



For the first week of life, the fawn 

 lies hidden in the tall grass where its 

 spotted pattern blends well, and the 

 mother returns to it for nursing. 



The young will not follow its mother 

 in daytime during the first month, but 

 evidence from tracks shows that it may 

 accompany her to water at night after 

 it is six days old. 



These habits work for protection. 

 When a lone fawn is found curled up, 

 this does not mean that it has been 

 orphaned; the mother is merely away 

 feeding. Please help us to pass this infor- 

 mation on. Each summer, several fawns 

 are brought in to the rangers and the 

 naturalists by misguided visitors who 

 believe they have found an orphan. 



The thing to do is to return the ani- 

 mal to where it was found so the doe 

 can reclaim it. Unfortunately, the find- 

 ers can seldom identify the spot, and 

 we are then faced with a problem. Rear- 

 ing a baby deer requires two cases of 

 canned milk a month, for which the 

 National Park Service has no funds. The 

 responsibility then devolves upon the em- 

 ployee and constitutes a real financial 

 burden, unfairly imposed. No one who 

 has seen an innocent looking little fawn 

 can bring himself to let it starve. 



Even though the fawn may be reared 



there is another problem. We then have 

 a half-domesticated animal scarcely suit- 

 able in a wilderness area such as a na- 

 tional park. Furthermore, when it reaches 

 maturity, especially if a male, it becomes 

 dangerous to little children, often charg- 

 ing them. 



If z fawn is found in its resting place, 

 // should be left strictly alone. During the 

 first week it apparently has no odor, 

 which means that the predators are un- 

 likely to discover and destroy it. If a 

 human touches the fawn, of course it is 

 no longer scentless. Even the trail left 

 by persons walking too close to the spot 

 might also lead a curious coyote, moun- 

 tain lion, wildcat, or bear to the fawn. 

 Some does are very zealous in the pro- 

 tection of their young and have inflicted 

 severe injuries upon people by charging 

 them unexpectedly. 



The spotted coat of fawns begins to 

 disappear in August. By the end of 

 September, they are clothed in gray, simi- 

 lar to the color of the adults, which are 

 predominantly blue-gray in winter and 

 reddish in summer. 



The Yosemite Valley herd of listless, 

 unafraid deer which do not leave in the 

 winter represent probably less than one 

 per cent of those in the entire park 

 (1189 square miles). 



In the autumn, migration of deer 

 from higher to lower country begins. 

 The first big snow storm may initiate 

 this movement, or it may anticipate bad 

 weather. If there is a considerable mod- 

 eration in weather, some of the deer 

 move back into the park until forced 



