06/04/2026
https://www.facebook.com/100090673943205/posts/957558007276655/
I'm a white-tailed doe. The fawn you found curled in your flowerbed isn't lost. I left her there on purpose.
My newborn weighs four to ten pounds and can't outrun anything yet. So she does the opposite of running — she lies flat and goes still. She's born nearly scentless, with a spotted coat that breaks her shape in the grass.
The danger isn't her. It's me. I'm big and I carry scent, and a coyote that catches my trail can follow it straight to her. So I stay away. I feed at a distance and slip back only a few times a day to nurse.
I do it near you on purpose. Coyotes hunt the open field edges and the deep woods. They don't work your flowerbeds in daylight. So I tuck her against your deck, your shed, your fence line — and I shift my own day toward the hours when you're awake and the coyote is resting.
A lone fawn lying quiet is a fawn doing everything right.
🦌 If you find a fawn near your home:
- Leave her exactly where she is. I'm feeding nearby and I'll return to nurse.
- Don't touch her and keep dogs away. If I smell people at the spot, I'll wait longer to return.
- A fawn alone for a full day, crying, visibly thin, or injured is the only one that needs help — call your state wildlife agency.
I didn't pick your yard because I'm tame. I picked it because it's the one place the coyote won't look 🌿
