She has arrived, the first fawn in our herd here at Deer Run! I was inside doing some chores on Wednesday afternoon when Mr. Happy Vegan retrieved me with an urgent message "come outside NOW." I did. There she was.
We have nicknamed her "Tofu Daisy."
I grabbed my camera (I know better now, anytime Mr. Happy Vegan tells me to come outside now, its 99.9% of the time animal related) and headed out. There was a small herd of adult does, and the baby. I went to a spot where no deer were, but close enough for me to get some photos. I sat down on the pea rock, then began shooting, and watching. I was there for an hour or so. I took over 200 pictures. I was there long enough that the deer meandered into my general direction. I did not lure them there. I did not feed them. I did not talk to them. I simply sat there watching, and taking pictures.
I suppose it best for me to explain something before I go further. There are no pictures attached to this post because somehow the cyberworld ate them. Over 200 photos, and I had never been that close to a fawn before either. But, they're gone. You can imagine how that conversation went with Mr. Happy Vegan, can't you?
Back to the story.
Tofu Daisy, and the others, were in the area grazing on the teeny tiny flowers that fall in great abundance this time of year from our dogwood tree. Tofu Daisy was reveling in the little pockets of water she found on our giant philodendron plants. Tofu Daisy would run, jump, and stop suddenly to play. Then she would come back to the herd, for the love and protection necessary as part of her survival skills.
Tofu Daisy would raise a tiny hoof from time to time to get mommy's attention. Mommy nuzzled her often, and little TD engaged in some group grooming. This all was such an incredible sight to see. I have never been that close to a newborn, and I have never witnessed the grooming behavior either being done by a newborn. Both myself and Mr. Happy Vegan understand the incredible gift it was to see all this, for we also understand the incredible plight these animals face.
I do have a telephoto lens, I was able to get quite a few close up shots. Its important that I keep writing here over and over that I did not lure them, I did not talk to them, I did not feed them because there is always a darker side to things like this, and here it comes.
This morning on the north end of our street, a newborn fawn was hit and killed by an anonymous driver. Bad enough the driver did this, but they fled, and left the fawn alone to die in the street. Two turtle walkers who were on the street heading to park their car in order to patrol for nests came upon the sight of the dead fawn in the street, with an adult doe and another fawn circling, crying with grief. They were actually bleating out grief stricken cries over the fallen. Most likely this was the fawn's mother, and also likely the other fawn was a twin of the one hit and killed.
On Wednesday when I was taking all these photos, I expected to write a post filled with joy. Before I could even get the photos downloaded (which were eaten, I hate computers) the tragedy happened.
This is an outrage, and we're not hiding in anonymity about this. We here at Deer Run have spoken with the Key Deer Refuge officers and informed them we will be taking photos of anyone we see feeding the deer on the street, with photos of the vehicle & license plate. We will forward them to the Refuge for citation. We will take license plates of speeders whenever possible, and file citizen complaints. No one is immune. Further, I am no longer simply going to pick up all the trash from the tipped cans I see, instead I am lodging complaints with the County. The tipped cans lure the deer to the street. Anyone who lives or visits here knows well enough that we have deer and raccoons as scavengers. Ignorance, apathy or laziness is no excuse for improperly secured trash. I'm sick of it, and I cannot bear the sight of another fawn, or adult deer, dead on our street if I have anything to offer to the contrary.
Tofu Daisy is maybe 7 weeks old. She was busy on Wednesday licking water off plants, testing what was on the ground with the "is this food?" wonderment that all newborns must discover (no little Tofu Daisy, pea rock is not food, silly girl), following her mommy and all the others in the herd for protection, and in general learning all there is to love in her world. Now, another of her kin, probably engaging in the exact same activities as our beloved TD was joyfully doing on Wednesday, is dead.
Help us be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Do not speed on Big Pine Key, during fawning season, or anytime. Do not litter. Do nothing to lure animals to the street. They are dying at the hand of humankind, please do your part to help them survive.
We have nicknamed her "Tofu Daisy."
I grabbed my camera (I know better now, anytime Mr. Happy Vegan tells me to come outside now, its 99.9% of the time animal related) and headed out. There was a small herd of adult does, and the baby. I went to a spot where no deer were, but close enough for me to get some photos. I sat down on the pea rock, then began shooting, and watching. I was there for an hour or so. I took over 200 pictures. I was there long enough that the deer meandered into my general direction. I did not lure them there. I did not feed them. I did not talk to them. I simply sat there watching, and taking pictures.
I suppose it best for me to explain something before I go further. There are no pictures attached to this post because somehow the cyberworld ate them. Over 200 photos, and I had never been that close to a fawn before either. But, they're gone. You can imagine how that conversation went with Mr. Happy Vegan, can't you?
Back to the story.
Tofu Daisy, and the others, were in the area grazing on the teeny tiny flowers that fall in great abundance this time of year from our dogwood tree. Tofu Daisy was reveling in the little pockets of water she found on our giant philodendron plants. Tofu Daisy would run, jump, and stop suddenly to play. Then she would come back to the herd, for the love and protection necessary as part of her survival skills.
Tofu Daisy would raise a tiny hoof from time to time to get mommy's attention. Mommy nuzzled her often, and little TD engaged in some group grooming. This all was such an incredible sight to see. I have never been that close to a newborn, and I have never witnessed the grooming behavior either being done by a newborn. Both myself and Mr. Happy Vegan understand the incredible gift it was to see all this, for we also understand the incredible plight these animals face.
I do have a telephoto lens, I was able to get quite a few close up shots. Its important that I keep writing here over and over that I did not lure them, I did not talk to them, I did not feed them because there is always a darker side to things like this, and here it comes.
This morning on the north end of our street, a newborn fawn was hit and killed by an anonymous driver. Bad enough the driver did this, but they fled, and left the fawn alone to die in the street. Two turtle walkers who were on the street heading to park their car in order to patrol for nests came upon the sight of the dead fawn in the street, with an adult doe and another fawn circling, crying with grief. They were actually bleating out grief stricken cries over the fallen. Most likely this was the fawn's mother, and also likely the other fawn was a twin of the one hit and killed.
On Wednesday when I was taking all these photos, I expected to write a post filled with joy. Before I could even get the photos downloaded (which were eaten, I hate computers) the tragedy happened.
This is an outrage, and we're not hiding in anonymity about this. We here at Deer Run have spoken with the Key Deer Refuge officers and informed them we will be taking photos of anyone we see feeding the deer on the street, with photos of the vehicle & license plate. We will forward them to the Refuge for citation. We will take license plates of speeders whenever possible, and file citizen complaints. No one is immune. Further, I am no longer simply going to pick up all the trash from the tipped cans I see, instead I am lodging complaints with the County. The tipped cans lure the deer to the street. Anyone who lives or visits here knows well enough that we have deer and raccoons as scavengers. Ignorance, apathy or laziness is no excuse for improperly secured trash. I'm sick of it, and I cannot bear the sight of another fawn, or adult deer, dead on our street if I have anything to offer to the contrary.
Tofu Daisy is maybe 7 weeks old. She was busy on Wednesday licking water off plants, testing what was on the ground with the "is this food?" wonderment that all newborns must discover (no little Tofu Daisy, pea rock is not food, silly girl), following her mommy and all the others in the herd for protection, and in general learning all there is to love in her world. Now, another of her kin, probably engaging in the exact same activities as our beloved TD was joyfully doing on Wednesday, is dead.
Help us be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Do not speed on Big Pine Key, during fawning season, or anytime. Do not litter. Do nothing to lure animals to the street. They are dying at the hand of humankind, please do your part to help them survive.
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