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It’s October 22, 2022, and all the deer have been gone from the property for a week. It is distinctly quiet here without them, kind of like an orchard that’s been fully harvested. Exactly one week ago from this writing, I saw the last of them for now: the Auntie and her two fawns. I wish I could trail cam the whole unit to see where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing. And unfortunately, my last view of the Auntie and her fawns was troubling. One of the fawns had a severely injured leg. It had resulted (like an earlier injury I’d seen) in the little creature’s inability to use a front leg. The leg just dangled and swung as it walked. But this time, unlike that first short-lived injury, there was a large wound visible at the bottom of what would be its “calf.” I could not see bone protruding, and it did not look like there was actively a big blood flow from the wound, but it looked bad.

This is one of those junctures where what I’ve had the privilege to observe is excruciating to watch. It’s not great timing for an injury that requires support from mom. The does are about to push the fawns away (as they enter estrus), so the fawns will be at least somewhat on their own for awhile. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know how far geographically they and their does will be separated. I don’t know whether twins will stick together. I don’t know whether the little doe / fawn units will regroup after rut. I’ve read does are only in estrus for few days, so maybe that’s some good news there. And the weather is changing, too. We’re about to hit a rainy streak. Then it will start to cool off. Easily available food will decline, though at the moment, things remain pretty green in the fawns’ range.

I was able to track the injured fawn’s presence on the property on that last day I saw it. It’s poop is very runny, but I’m hoping that’s attributable to eating more grass than usual, because grass is more easily in reach for a fawn with impacted mobility? For about two hours, it stood in the garden (which I’ve un-fenced for their use), nibbling bean plants, peppers leaves, and clover. It also spent part of that day lying in an open spot next to the herb circle. In that area, the grass where it bedded down was nibbled close to the ground, and there were a couple adjacent runny poops. There’s no blood in the scat, which I think would indicate coccidia, a potentially serious intestinal disorder, and the poop is soft, but not overly abundant, hence I make the “ate a lot of grass” guess, not diarrhea as a symptom of stress from its wound or from a secondary problem because it is weakening or weak.

It’s sad but it’s what being a wild animal entails.  It’s part of being the place that you’re in, you’re subject to its dangers as well as its bounty.  We humans are also the places where we are.  Not quite like the deer, but you’re breathing air, right?  Sucking your “place” right inside your body. I’m not going to post the video I have of the injured fawn walking to its doe— it’s just too sad— but here’s a grainy pic. It took all week for me to revisit this video to pull a screenshot.

Truth is, I will likely never get to know how this fawn fared. I’m hoping members of this little “family” at least pass through this fall, but there’s no guarantee. If the fawn is a buck, he’s going to start into a more solitary life, or a life more connected to other bucks. If it’s a doe, she might have to return here with the Auntie for me to definitively know it was her. Or perhaps sometime in the future, there’ll be a new doe here with an odd leg. It reminds me of one of life’s most annoying realities: sometimes you just don’t get to know the answer to something. I’ll finish the little fawn’s story if something comes up during the fall and winter that lets me do so. Meantime, here’s a montage of some of the most fun moments observing these deer. It’s been awesome to spend two summers with these guys.

Addendum 1: October

Addendum 2: November

Addendum 3: December