Give Wild Babies a Chance--Delay Mowing As Long As Possible

Like most outdoors people, I know right now is white-tailed deer fawning season. But it took a recent incident to make it seem real.

My wife, Diane, and I were camping with Brad and Suzanne Wright along Mussel Fork in Chariton County. The Wrights came back from a hike brimming with excitement. Their bouncy 4-year-old Labrador retriever, Jole Blon, had been bounding ahead of them when she stopped at the edge of the trail and nuzzled something. It looked as if she was trying to get another dog to play with her. As they got closer, they realized she was nose to nose with a newborn fawn.

With an 80-pound dog in its face and two humans approaching, the fawn got nervous and started to rise from its bed. Brad and Suzanne stopped and stood still as statues. The tiny deer calmed down and curled back up where it lay. They corralled Jole and hurried back to share the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Naturally, they didn't have a camera with them, but the image of Jole and the fawn nose to nose is etched in their memories.

We all gave the deer's bedroom wide berth for the rest of the weekend. Fawns face enough hazards--including coyotes, free-ranging dogs and mowers--without our adding to their problems.

If you have been planning to mowing part of your land, consider putting it off a few weeks to improve fawns' survival chances. It will help bobwhite quail, wild turkeys and other ground-nesting wildlife, too.

Jim