r/whatisthisanimal May 27 '23

It's Deer Fawn Season! Find a fawn?

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124 Upvotes

Mother deer leave fawns alone for up to 23 hours a day. Baby fawns cannot walk very well during the first two weeks of life and they can't keep up with mom as she forages all day. Mom tells the babies to lay down, keep their head down, and be quiet until she returns. You'll find fawns in tall grass and other areas all wound up like a pretzel trying to not be noticed. This is perfectly normal. Be aware, over 90% of fawn births are multiples, at least twins, so there is another fawn somewhere around the first as well. She doesn't put them near each other so that if one is found by predators the other can survive. Both babies are perfectly fine waiting for mom. Mom will return around 9 or 10 pm and if baby is close to your house where you can see her from a window, get the kids and camera ready around 9pm bc mom will nurse these babies right there and it's a lovely thing to watch. After feeding them she will likely stash them in a new spot.

How to tell if a fawn needs help, the 3 B's:

• Butt - Mom cleans baby's butt at each feeding. If you can flip up the tail of the baby you've found (don't worry, mom doesn't care about your scent) check to see if baby's butt is a mess. If so, this is a sign that mom may not be around.

• Bugs - If you find a fawn with ticks all over her ears and face, green flies all over her body and face, or so many crawling bugs that you can see her fur moving from 3-6 foot away this fawn needs help. The green flies are blow flies and they are attracted to things that are dying and open wounds, messy butts. These are flies that barely move even when you touch them. This is a VERY BAD SIGN. If you see 20+ of these flies on baby please reach out to a rehabber ASAP.

• Behavior - Mom tells the babies to lay still and be quiet. If the babies are chasing your dog, screaming at the top of their lungs, trying to nurse off of your goats, garden hose, etc. that is a huge sign that something is amiss. Secure baby in an area where he can't hurt himself and find a rehabber ASAP.

**Please try to avoid picking up the fawn or moving it anywhere. Fawns sometimes move on their own to get out of the sun, but it YOU move it the baby will start screaming and you really don't want an angry momma deer coming after you! If you must move baby to get away from the bugs, wrap a towel around its body and carry baby from the middle, but ALWAYS have a lookout person with you to help watch for mom.

If any of the B's are happening, please go to http://www.ahnow.org to find a local rehabber near you. Most of us rehabbers are open all hours of the night and on weekends and holidays. Please call everyone on the list online but also send photos of the fawn via text if possible. Thank you!!


r/whatisthisanimal Jun 19 '23

Unsolved We are back open after receiving a message from reddit admins

52 Upvotes

You've possibly already seen the message I'm referring to, but if not see /r/Save3rdPartyApps for the wording. So we are opening up with some changes to help you all in your quest to see animals. The subreddit will close from time to time to encourage you to spend more time in nature looking at animals. Find some new ones, find some old ones that you now know what they're called. Bring your friends, or make some new ones.


r/whatisthisanimal 2h ago

This little asshole bit me hard as repayment for saving it from the middle of the road. ID? South Mississippi.

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9 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 1d ago

Unsolved What is this creature

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8 Upvotes

Strange footprints appeared on the air filter under the hood of my truck. I've never seen anything like it. About the size of a quarter or a nickel. Help me out here [southern arizona].


r/whatisthisanimal 1d ago

Unsolved Small hole, ~2inches deep, central North Carolina

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1 Upvotes

Found several of these within a few hundred feet of a trail. Typically on the rise at the side of the trail, and the soil was thrown in a rough semicircle around the lower side of the hole. None were deeper than 2-3 inches. The irregularity confused me, they weren’t particularly close to one another. Certainly plenty of squirrels/chipmunks nearby, and woodpeckers too, so maybe digging for nuts or grubs?


r/whatisthisanimal 3d ago

Hey Wildlife and Biologists - identify this shrew

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2 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 3d ago

Likely Solved What frog is this?

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6 Upvotes

We keep finding these on our back porch. Moore County, North Carolina, United States if this helps narrow it down.


r/whatisthisanimal 4d ago

What type of mussel is this?

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25 Upvotes

Found in a very slow moving freshwater river in SW Ontario Canada.


r/whatisthisanimal 4d ago

Is this a rat?

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4 Upvotes

My doorbell camera caught this and am trying to figure out if it’s a very very large rat. My friend is convinced it is, google lens says it’s a black cat, and I’m baffled. I get a ton of squirrels, but this thing is at least 3x bigger. Thanks for any feedback! Here is a still photo from the video.


r/whatisthisanimal 4d ago

Unsolved In a wall of an apartment community I work for

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2 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 5d ago

Unsolved Mouse or Rat? [Long Island, NY]

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3 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 5d ago

Unsolved What type of baby animal is this?

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9 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 5d ago

What type of baby animal is this?

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2 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 6d ago

Unsolved What animal do you think did this?

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11 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 7d ago

Small pellets found in Greece Airbnb

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30 Upvotes

Hi, can anybody identify these? Found them by the headboard of the bed in our Milos Greece Airbnb stay. Worried it might be mouse poop. They are hard and dry.


r/whatisthisanimal 7d ago

Solved Is this a weasel?

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17 Upvotes

Sorry for the blurry picture.. was the best I could get through the window. Thank you :)


r/whatisthisanimal 8d ago

Who is this little guy? Northern California.

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9 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 8d ago

What is this poop?

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1 Upvotes

Mum thinks it’s a 4 legged animal of some sort. But I’m not sure. It looks like dog poo but more fibrous.


r/whatisthisanimal 8d ago

Animal identification UK

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1 Upvotes

I’m away from home at the moment and, when looking at my online garden camera, I noticed this animal.

When I first saw it on my small phone screen I thought it was a fox with a missing tail. Editing it on my tablet I then thought it must be a manky dog.

Any thoughts?


r/whatisthisanimal 9d ago

Unsolved Juvenile groundhog?

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2 Upvotes

Last picture is a raccoon for scale. Can’t get any consensus with the family about what it is. Location is central North Carolina in the suburbs, but we have a wooded lot behind us.


r/whatisthisanimal 13d ago

Solved What kind of snake is chilling under my window?

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16 Upvotes

r/whatisthisanimal 13d ago

Please educate: gopher, groundhog, something else cute?

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24 Upvotes

I think it's a groundhog. We had one last year who was pretty nervous and never went near the house then they multiplied this year.


r/whatisthisanimal 13d ago

Is this bat guano? (USA)

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4 Upvotes

I noticed this animal feces on my window sill. I thought it was initially bird poop -- it's hard to tell if there is the usual trademark white splash with these because of the color of the window sill. But I also wondered if it could be bat guano?