Fawn that fell into hands of kids is returned to the wild

In a scene worthy of a Walt Disney movie, authorities say a fawn was reunited with its mother with the help of a King County Sheriff deputy and a state wildlife agent.

The incident, which occurred June 21 near Maple Valley but wasn’t reported by the Sheriff Department until last Friday, began when Wendy Willette, the state Fish and Wildlife Department officer, called deputy Julie Loofbourow. Willette reported children had been seen carrying a fawn around the neighborhood in a trailer park near Southeast 180th and Cedar Grove Road. Both officers headed for the location.

When they arrived, witnesses directed the officers to one of the homes, where the y found a boy who was pulling the fawn, a male, in a baby cart behind his bicycle. He told the officers that h found the baby deer along the nearby Cedar Grove Trail and decided to take it home, via a tour of the neighborhood.

According to John Urquhart, a Sheriff Department spokesman, the fawn wasn’t very alert, so Loofbourow put it in the front seat of her patrol car and fed water to the thirsty animal from a baby bottle provided by Willette.

The officers, hoping to reunite the fawn with its mother, tried to put it back where it had been found originally. But there were too many people around, so they picked a secluded area with deer tracks that were nearby, Urquhart reported. He said that when they checked back the next day, the fawn was gone, apparently with its mother.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Department, fawns being born this time of year and temporarily left alone by their mothers are commonly assumed by people who find them as being abandoned or orphaned. No matter how well-intentioned, people shouldn’t take fawns, as the mothers are usually just gone feeding but will come back, officials said.

“Mother Nature really does knows best,” Urquhart said.