Instincts are to Hide; Just because I Don't Run doesn't mean I Need Help!

In late spring and early summer, baby ungulates , such as moose, elk, and deer give birth to their young. These tiny newborns appear so defenseless. A hiker can stumble across one and the poor thing will stay frozen in one spot with no parent in sight. So much so, that you may be tempted to pick it up in an effort to protect it. Please don't! As crazy as this may seem, for the first couple weeks of life, this is completely normal!

Photo A rare site I captured last August; Moose twins (I would have posted ones from this week but only got 2 pictures, both of which are on my work phone with zero percent battery life at the moment).

I have been out doing moose calf searches this week for work as part of a multi year research study aimed at filling in our knowledge gaps on moose populations. Calves we are in search of belong to mothers who are fitted with VHF collars (For more information on this project simply google moose birth's in Utah). The searches begin a few weeks after expected birth so they are old enough to follow Momma Moose already. I did not know this crucial fact when I first began tracking. As I spotted the first moose, I suddenly realized I did not know what age of calf I was looking for. Of all the questions I asked our experienced Grad School Moose Researchers, I forgot to ask whether we needed to search the surrounding areas for newborns or if the calves would be at their mother's heel. I watched the moose disappear into thick timber, with no calf behind her. My colleagues and I decided she had not given birth this year. Luckily, the grad students confirmed this with that tiny little detail that the research is conducted once calves are mobile. But what about those first few weeks of life? Well, those first few weeks prior to these searches is what I would like to focus on.

Stock photo

Ungulates such as moose, elk and deer are not very mobile for a couple days up to a couple weeks depending upon the species. During this time period females will feed their newborns then leave for several hours at a time to feed themselves. It may seem strange to leave a newborn unattended, but staying away is actually safer for fawns and calves. Does (female deer) and cows (female moose or elk) do not stick around immobile young for long periods of time. Doing so would be a death sentence for their young. They would merely be attracting predators to their young, whom are incapable of escaping. Instead, hiding newborns is the best strategy! Ungulate newborns are remarkably hard to see in thick brush and heavily forested areas. In fact, chances are, if you hike frequently in late spring and early summer in areas populated with ungulates, you have likely walked within feet of a fawn without even realizing it. Yes, their survival strategy really is that effective. It has to be, otherwise cougars and coyotes would have out competed deer and elk in evolutionary terms.

Many fawns and calves do die. It is the sad truth. That first year of life is rough for most species and many, sometimes even more than half do not make it. If you want the odds of survival to go up, then do not touch, handle, or move ungulate newborns if you do happen to find one. Why? For several reasons:

1. Any kind of physical contact will leave your scent on the animal. This is almost like putting a large neon sign above its head saying "Hey mister coyote, I am RIGHT HERE waiting to fill your belly up."
2. Female ungulates know exactly where they left their offspring. If a human takes her baby even for a couple hours and she returns during that time to nurse, instinctively, she thinks she lost her young to a predator. She may not ever find her fawn/calf again, even if it is put back where it was found. No mother results in no chance at survival.
3. Fawns and calves that are "saved" or raised by humans do not have the opportunity to learn from adults of their own species. They can imprint on humans and essentially do not know how to be a deer, or elk or moose or whatever species they actually are. They become entirely dependent upon humans for survival (This ties into my last blog about not feeding wildlife).
4. Handling or touching wildlife is extremely stressful for them. In many species extensive and excessive handling causes their core body temperatures to rise to alarming rates, which can actually ignite health issues and even mortality.

What should you do if you find a poor helpless newborn? Leave it alone. That little baby is doing his job perfectly by hunkering down and hiding! He doesn't know you can see him, nor should he know that. Soak up the moment from a distance. Baby animals are the most innocent, adorable thing you can find. That I can't argue! Take pictures, but do not intrude on its personal space. The closer you get, the more stressed it will become. Support newborn survival and let them do their instinctual thing; Hide without interference.

Although I know this blog is a little late for this years offspring in moose and elk around my neck of the woods, mule deer are just starting to fawn. So please spread the word. Leave those babies alone. "Helping" actually does more harm than good.

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As always, thanks for reading.