Fawns in the fields
Working with a local rancher to protect wildlife
Jim Lamb began working for the DWR in 1992 as a conservation officer. In 2005, he transferred into the Wildlife section to work in Loa as a district biologist.
A colleague snapped this photo of me moving one of the fawns to a safer location.
In June of 2008, our office received a call from a nearby ranch. They asked if we could help them find and remove fawns from their hayfields so the mowing machines wouldn’t kill the young deer. The ranch had unintentionally killed eight fawns the year before. So several of us spent one morning walking the fields before the swathers arrived. We wanted to find any fawns that might be bedded down and move them to an area where they would be safe.
Usually, we don’t handle or move young animals because their mothers can smell our scent and become afraid of their offspring. In this case, we chose to move any fawns we found. We knew if they weren’t moved, they would certainly be killed by the swathers. That day, we were able to find and move four fawns to a nearby area where tall grass and vegetation provided cover. It was also the same area where adult deer usually entered and exited the field. No fawns were hit or killed by the mowing machines. We don’t know if the ranch will see fawns again this year, but if they do, we’re glad to send biologists and wildlife technicians to help out.
April 27, 2009 at 11:40 am
Grow some facial hair, You look realy old.
July 23, 2009 at 10:29 am
I would think that it would be hard to catch those little guys. Do they not run away scared when you approach them?
January 25, 2010 at 11:03 am
Nice article! Where is the rss subscription link in this website?
March 4, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Glad you liked it! Here is the link to the RSS feed : wildlife.utah.gov/blog/feed/
June 22, 2010 at 10:14 am
I have a non-resident thousand lake deer permit. what is the general area deer are in oct ?
October 18, 2010 at 3:58 am
Good job in rescuing the fawns.
October 9, 2011 at 5:28 am
The fawns on the photo is so cute !
June 1, 2017 at 4:33 pm
Are you still helping animals? I have a friend in Torrey Utah that has a live skunk caught in a live trap that needs help. They’re older and in capable of transporting it somewhere safe.
January 15, 2018 at 7:46 am
Loved it. We still need more people to saving animal on our planet