Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Leave the fawn where it is.

A doe leaves her fawn lying still in cover for most of the day and returns to nurse at dusk and dawn. The fawn has almost no scent and does not move; that combination is why it survives. A fawn found alone in the morning is a fawn where it is supposed to be.

What to do right now

  1. 01Walk away and keep dogs away from the area.
  2. 02Watch from a window at dusk if you want confirmation.
  3. 03If you have already picked it up, put it back within a few hours, in the same spot.

What not to do

  • Do not touch, feed, or move a fawn that is lying quietly with its legs folded under it.
  • Do not assume a fawn near a road is orphaned.

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • It is walking and crying continuously, or wandering in the open.
  • It is lying on its side, covered in flies, or you can see ribs and hip bones.
  • You have found the dead doe.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for fawns and deer.

Accepts White-tailed Deer

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

Showing 12 of 26. If nobody here can take it, 14 more are permitted for this animal.

Show all 26

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.