A young fawn in the Bergheim animal shelter in Cologne caused problems. The finders had touched it and thus passed on their own human body odor to the young animal.
For mother deer, the foreign smell is often a reason to reject the young. » This morning this little fawn was brought to us.
Unfortunately, the finders touched it – something you should NEVER do because if foreign smell sticks to them, mothers usually reject their young and they starve to death, » the shelter staff said.
For the shelter, which usually cares for dogs and cats, and other pets, the wild animal provided an additional challenge. « Now good advice was expensive for us, and we called a number of wildlife stations.
We finally got help from the wildlife care station in Koblenz, the employees reported. A nurse then drove off on Monday. The balance sheet for the animal shelter is sad. « The campaign will cost him half a working day – and unfortunately the fawn will never see his mother again. »
According to the finder, the fawn is said to have been frightened by an unleashed dog. Then it ran into a bush and the woman initially went on.
When the woman later came back to the site after the tour with her own dog, other people are said to have taken the animal out of hiding. The contact was made. The woman then knowingly adopted the animal and brought it to the shelter.
« Thanks to the Bergheim animal shelter team who are taking care of the fawn at the moment, » she continued. She had previously been very upset about the dog owner and the other finders without a leash.
The experts have a clear request for the finders of wild animals and appealed to research the Internet first:
« Please take a look if you are dealing with a found wild animal unsure if you can get any advice/help there or try to get help over the phone before removing the animal from its natural habitat. »
The professional carers for birds had the same tip ready: « The same applies to many young birds that hop around on the ground. Many are just learning to fly and are being cared for by their parents – and they definitely don’t want to be taken to the animal shelter. »
