If you see Bambi, don't touch

Keep Your Paws Off Wildlife

Don't touch the bunnies either

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) again urges the public not to interfere with baby wild animals, especially fawns, which are often mistakenly thought to be abandoned. 

Fawns lying quietly in grass are not orphaned and should be left alone, because moving or handling them may separate them from their mother and jeopardize their life.

“In nature, it’s normal for a fawn to be hidden in grass or brush for the first week after birth, as it can’t yet follow its mother,” said Dylan Ferreira, a wildlife biologist in DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW). 

“Sometimes well-intentioned people wrongly assume that a fawn is abandoned and take it home and try to rescue it, but the mother is usually nearby and returns to feed it. If you see a fawn alone, please leave it alone – it does not need help and should not be handled.”  

“DEM stresses that wildlife is beautiful but should always be enjoyed from afar,” said RI State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall. 

“Never approach wild animals and certainly never touch them. Handling mammals is always a potential rabies exposure. Once people handle or have contact with these animals, public health officials are compelled to test the animal for rabies, which requires that the animal be humanely dispatched because testing requires brain tissue.”   

While some may be tempted to feed deer, feeding wildlife is illegal in Rhode Island and harmful. It can cause digestive problems, spread disease, attract more wildlife than the area can support, and lead to conflicts with humans.  

Each year, DEM receives many calls about healthy fawns mistakenly believed to need rescue. This is almost never the case. Removing wildlife from the wild is illegal in Rhode Island and not an act of compassion. Every spring, fawns are unnecessarily brought to wildlife rehabilitators by mistaken people trying to help but end up having to be brought back to the wild. 

Removing fawns from the wild greatly reduces their chance of survival and reconnecting with their mother. This also reduces DEM and wildlife rehabilitator staff resources. The only solution to this annual problem is for the public to stop handling wildlife in misguided attempts to “save” them – leaving fawns alone gives them the best chance to survive. 

If you find a fawn, leave the area immediately and avoid disturbing it. Unless a dead doe is nearby, the fawn is not abandoned. Fawns stay still and hidden to avoid predators but may occasionally approach people or pets – if so, leave the area. 

If you see a fawn in immediate danger – like lying in a road – monitor from a safe distance. It may move once you back away. If it stays in a hazardous spot, call DEM Environmental Police at 401-222-3070. For visibly injured fawns, contact the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island at 401-294-6363. 

For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Facebook, Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates. Follow DFW on Facebook and Instagram (@ri.fishandwildlife) to stay up to date on news, events and volunteer opportunities. You can also subscribe to DFW’s monthly newsletter here.