Healed after being hit by a car, B.C. fawn reunites with mother

A rescued fawn is seen in this image from the B.C. SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre Facebook page.

After recovering in the care of the B.C. SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Victoria, an adorable fawn is back in the wild with its mother.

The baby deer was hit by a car and spent several days healing from head injuries and other internal trauma, the organization said in a social media post last week.

The charity explained that reuniting fawns with their mothers is difficult and time sensitive, as does will only respond to their own babies.

“Our expert team was ready for the task and quickly tracked down this fawn’s mother,” the post reads. “At the right place and at the right time, the fawn immediately ran up to the doe, and our team was thrilled to witness this beautiful reunion.”

While this particular fawn needed the rescuers’ help, Wild ARC said well-intentioned but mistaken people commonly call the organization about “orphaned” deer or even bring healthy fawns to the centre—a phenomenon it calls “accidental fawn-napping.”

The organization says it’s normal for mother deer to leave their fawns alone for long periods of time while looking for food.

Signs a fawn needs help and a call to the B.C. SPCA or another wildlife rescue is warranted include if it hasn’t moved from its spot for 24 hours, is crying continuously, wandering aimlessly, looks injured, or is in an unsafe location, like on the road.