by Melissa Newland
The time of year has come when little ones are out running about, learning how to live, learning how to survive and stay alive. In a world full of obstacles for these little ones, humans driving vehicles are probably the most difficult hurdle for them to overcome. Over the last weekend, this reporter and her husband and daughter, Jimmy and Kinsey, had the opportunity to help one of these little ones have a chance at life after its mother was hit by a vehicle near our home. We chose to help an orphaned fawn. The fawn and mother had been roaming around our area since the fawn was first born. On one occasion, the fawn even ventured up onto our deck to find safety while the mother was out foraging for food to nourish the young deer. Approximately a week after this incident, on Saturday, July 1, a passing vehicle accidentally hit a doe near our property, killing the doe instantly. Our hope was that it was not the mother to the fawn that had been recently spotted at our residence, but our hopes were soon dashed the next day when we heard a fawn calling out for its mother, obviously in distress. Jimmy and I went to investigate. When we arrived at the scene of the doe’s demise, we spotted the fawn a few yards away, crying to get the mother’s attention. We tried to corral the fawn, but our attempts were thwarted by the fawn running too far into the woods for us to catch. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.