Outdoors Notebook: Leave fawns and other baby animals alone, wildlife experts say

May 25—As they do every year about this time, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are asking well-intentioned people to avoid disturbing or touching deer fawns, which are born about this time of year.

Most fawns are born in mid-May to mid-June, and fawns do not attempt to evade predators during their first few weeks of life. Instead, they remain still to avoid being seen. During these times, fawns are learning critical survival skills from their mothers but are often left on their own while their mothers forage watchfully nearby.

Be assured deer fawns are likely fine even if they look abandoned or fragile. Even if the fawn is known to be wounded or abandoned due to car strike or animal attack, do not transport it without talking to a wildlife rehabilitator. Unless you are a trained wildlife biologist or wildlife rehabilitator, moving a fawn can be detrimental to the animal and increase the risk of disease spread. For more information about what to do when people find fawns or other species of young wild animals, visit the

DNR website

.

The message also applies to other baby animals such as ducklings, rabbits and songbirds. According to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the only time a baby animal should be picked up is if it is in an unnatural situation, such as a young songbird found on a doorstep. In that case, the young bird can be moved to the closest suitable habitat.

People should also steer clear of adult wildlife, such as deer or moose that might wander into urban areas, and motorists are reminded to watch for deer along roadways. During the next several weeks young animals are dispersing from home ranges, and with deer more active during this time, the potential for car‑deer collisions increases. — staff report

ST. PAUL — Wildlife researchers with the Minnesota DNR are getting ready to begin year four of a five-year study to outfit newborn fawns with GPS-tracking collars in southern Minnesota. The study uses data from GPS collars to track deer movement, habitat preferences, causes of mortality, and deer dispersal and migration rates.

With the aid of a contracted drone pilot, the research team locates fawns, usually one to five days old, in their natural habitat. From there, a team of three to four people navigates to the fawn on foot to locate and capture the fawn to check length, weight and overall health while also slipping on a flexible GPS collar that expands as the young deer grows. The whole process is typically completed in about four minutes to minimize stress on the animal. The team collars 100 fawns each year.

The GPS collar can provide information about fawn survival rates, primary causes of deer mortality and what types of habitats they prefer. The GPS collars are designed to break away from the deer after 18 months, at which time the collar provides an exact geolocation for retrieval. While in use, the collar's attached transmitter alerts the team when a location remains static for several consecutive hours, which can be helpful for the team to quickly locate deer and find clues in case of the animal's death.

For updates on this year's effort, make sure to follow the

Minnesota Fish and Wildlife Facebook page

. — staff report

ST. PAUL — Targeted culling is a management action the DNR uses to slow the spread of CWD where it is known to exist. The Minnesota DNR does not cull deer across a broad area; all efforts are focused within 2 miles of a known positive location. All culling is conducted with landowner permission. Of the total CWD-positive deer found in Minnesota since 2010, nearly 30% were removed through culling efforts.

Targeted culling efforts in the southeast started in February and continued through the end of March. Targeted culling also took place in January near Grand Rapids (part of Deer Permit Area 679) and in a focused area in Crow Wing County (part of DPA 604). In total, these culling efforts resulted in 411 samples, with 17 results (all from the southeast) indicating a positive CWD result.

All deer that are culled are processed by a licensed meat processor and the venison is stored until test results are received. Deer that receive a "not detected" test result are given back to participating landowners or donated to food banks for distribution to local food shelves. All deer that test positive are brought to the University of Minnesota Diagnostic Laboratory for disposal in an alkaline digestor.

More CWD test results

can be found on the DNR website. — staff report

ST. PAUL — Minnesota hunters have through Saturday, June 15, to apply for one of the 10 elk licenses the DNR is offering this year in northwest Minnesota. Licenses offered this year include two landowner permits, two 10-year history permits and six general lottery permits. All three seasons will be conducted from Saturday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Sept. 29.

There are currently three recognized herds in northwestern Minnesota: Grygla, Kittson Central and Caribou-Vita. The Grygla area zone remains closed to state-licensed elk hunters.

More information is available on the

DNR elk hunting webpage.

In a news release, the DNR said the reduction in state-issued elk permits this year reflects the agency's desire to move toward population goals while considering potential harvest by Red Lake Nation Band members.

The reduction also accounts for uncertainty in elk numbers, since lack of snow prevented the DNR from conducting its 2024 aerial elk population survey this past winter.

For more on Minnesota's elk, visit the

DNR elk management webpage. — staff report

ST. PAUL — Throughout the year, the fur coats on white-tailed deer change to match the seasonal weather and temperature. Every spring, deer shed their thicker winter coat and replace it with a much thinner summer coat. As deer shed their hair in the spring, also called molting, they can look ragged or tattered as clumps of their darker winter coat fall off and the reddish summer coat begins to show through.

This somewhat unattractive look can cause people to think deer are sick or injured, but don't fret, the DNR says — deer are simply going through the molting process. Molting is relatively quick, typically taking two to three weeks to complete. In the fall, usually in August or September, deer will begin molting their summer coat and transitioning to their winter coat, and the yearly cycle begins again. — staff report