This fawn could only be rescued with the fire department's help.
It is that time of year again. Time for the newborn fawns to start dropping in the woods. Normally we recommend leaving these newborn animals alone. Far too many fawns are "rescued" that never need saving. Mother is usually close and keeping an eye on her young closely.
However, every so often a fawn gets into a predicament where the mother deer needs help that only humans can provide.
Such was the case in New Jersey earlier this week when the Hackettstown Fire Department had to be called out to rescue a fawn that had somehow fallen into a hole. See the results of this heartwarming rescue in the video below.
https://rumble.com/embed/v6rf73/?pub=7gve
Curious as to what happened here, we sought out the rest of the story. The Times Herald-Record reports that a homeowner, Scott Tillou, in Hackettstown had noticed a doe hanging out in his neighborhood. The sighting was not unusual, but what happened on Monday was.
Tillou told the news publication that when he saw the doe hanging out near a fence on his property, he went out to investigate. He quickly realized the doe had a fawn in the area and that something was wrong.
"I couldn't see it anywhere, but I heard it under my feet," Tillou told the Times Hearld-Record.
He quickly realized the tiny fawn had somehow managed to fall into a groundhog hole where it was now stuck. Tillou called his brother, a fireman with the department. He brought a few other firefighters. Officers with the local police department and the Hackettstown Department of Public Works also came to help.
It took them nearly an hour to carefully dig away the dirt with the help of a backhoe. The fawn had managed to fall nearly five feet deep and was hopelessly tangled in the roots of the tree. The Times Hearld-Record reports the fawn's mother was nearby after the rescue. She fled when they tried to reunite them, but she ran away.
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. They left the fawn nearby and the mother came back to get it later. The doe and fawn, plus a second baby deer were later seen playing nearby later that evening.
Even though fawns are small, we are wondering what circumstances led to the fawn falling down such a small hole. In any case, we are glad to see the rescue was a success. That fawn was destined for a slow, painful death otherwise. It was fortunate this happened in an urban area and not the deep woods. Good job gentlemen!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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