Maine Hikers Save A Fawn

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Didn’t some guy get arrested out west several years ago for saving a deer from a bear? I’m not sure where I stand on this either. It would be sad to see the fawn killed and eaten, yet that is the circle of life in the wilderness.
 
Interesting. Intellectually, I would say that they probably should have let nature take its course. If I had been there, though, I think I probably would have done the same thing. The horror of the scene and the instinct to save a helpless baby animal would be too strong. Arguably, since fishers are an introduced species in the environment, you could perhaps justify the actions afterwards by saying it wasn't REALLY natural.

The rescuers reported hearing screaming; but I wonder if this might have been coming from the fisher. Fishers hunting have the most terrifying wail. Anyone who has ever been woken at 3 a.m. hearing a fisher screeching will never forget it.
 
The horror of the scene and the instinct to save a helpless baby animal would be too strong.

The Bambi Effect. Funny how this scene would be viewed as horrific by most, but a fox triangulating and pouncing on a vole would be a "Wild Kingdom" moment, simply because fox and fawns are cuter than voles and fishers.

Arguably, since fishers are an introduced species in the environment, you could perhaps justify the actions afterwards by saying it wasn't REALLY natural.

;) Managed and Re-introduced post extirpation. They had been here.
 
Alternate view:
A wild born two week old fawn now spends it's life in captivity, and a litter of newborn fishers go hungry, may even starve to death .

I am all for leaving wild things alone.
 
I think I'll look up their address and barge in at dinner time, stealing their steak and potatoes...Maybe grab an ice cream from the freezer on the way out. :rolleyes:
 
The Bambi Effect. Funny how this scene would be viewed as horrific by most, but a fox triangulating and pouncing on a vole would be a "Wild Kingdom" moment, simply because fox and fawns are cuter than voles and fishers.

Absolutely.

The last sentence in that report should have read:

The fawn was turned over to a wildlife rehabilitator to be released and eaten later.

Animals never die of "old age" in the wild.

Keith
 
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Alternate view:
A wild born two week old fawn now spends it's life in captivity, and a litter of newborn fishers go hungry, may even starve to death .

I am all for leaving wild things alone.

Fishers are incredible hunters. Nothing is certain, but if it was a mother hunting for her young, I doubt that they will starve because if this incident. The town that the fawn was rescued in is one of the largest in the state. I live in the neighboring town and know the sanctuary well. It is in a part of the state that bow hunters are allowed hunt an unlimited amount of doe due to overpopulation of deer. My actions would have most likely been the same, so I really should not judge them for theirs, but fishers are some of the only natural forms of population control in the area, so I think the right thing to do would be to walk away.
 
For the people who would not of saved the fawn, would you pick up a baby chic and put it back in the nest or raise it yourself? Do you have a bird feeder at home? These are human interventions on nature...........just asking.

I do not know what I would do.
 
For the people who would not of saved the fawn, would you pick up a baby chic and put it back in the nest or raise it yourself? Do you have a bird feeder at home? These are human interventions on nature...........just asking.

I do not know what I would do.

Brian...I think this might answer your question.
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/wildlife/FAQs.html#3
 
The Fisher may have been breaking the law. Didn't this incident happen in a, Nature Sanctuary?

Doesn't the "No eating others" rule apply here?;)
 
no big deal in the grand scheme of things

No big deal either way. Save or let it be eaten. This rare and isolated incident has no bearing on the forces of nature.
 
People aren't natural?

What if another large animal had come on the scene and disrupted the fisher long enough for the fawn to escape? Would that be different than a human? Why?

Humans are natural beings, as any other large mammal. We think we are more sentient, so we group ourselves separately, and judge our actions differently.

Compare and contrast. :)
 
What if another large animal had come on the scene and disrupted the fisher long enough for the fawn to escape? Would that be different than a human? Why?

Humans are natural beings, as any other large mammal. We think we are more sentient, so we group ourselves separately, and judge our actions differently.

Compare and contrast. :)

Very interesting point.
 
Interestingly, I had a similar dilemna yesterday in my backyard. This little fawn was snuggled up right outside the back of my pool. She was there all day, and still there when we went to bed last night. Gone this morning. We debated about letting nature take it's course, or to call someone. Deer run rampant around us, so we decided it wasn't lost or in need, just momma off and would return.

Glad to not see a pile of schredded carcass this morning...
 
No big deal either way. Save or let it be eaten. This rare and isolated incident has no bearing on the forces of nature.

It all depends on perspective. Granted overall the effect is likely not a big deal but from that Fishers perspective I think he would consider it a big deal. He expended considerable time and effort (energy) to getting that fawn and he was about to get some return on that huge investment. It may have actually been life or death for that particular family.

More interesting in my mind is the belief that somehow fate has been cheated. The fisher is predator, the fawn was prey. The thought that this fawn has somehow escaped a grisly death is a non-sequitur. Its whole purpose in life is to be someones food. Animals in the wild do not "pass away" peacefully in the night.

Keith
 
What if another large animal had come on the scene and disrupted the fisher long enough for the fawn to escape? Would that be different than a human? Why?

Humans are natural beings, as any other large mammal. We think we are more sentient, so we group ourselves separately, and judge our actions differently.

Compare and contrast. :)

This would only make sense if you believe that the animal that chased away the Fisher, did it out of the kindness of its heart. And not to get the free meal the Fisher caught. ;)

If the Fisher was forced off of the fawn, I can pretty much assure you it would have been a larger predator that would do it.

We do group ourselves separate because we have compassion. Because we do, we can't imagine that anything else would force the Fisher off of the fawn for anything but compassionate reasons. Unfortunately, not so in the wild.

Keith
 
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This would only make sense if you believe that the animal that chased away the Fisher, did it out of the kindness of its heart. And not to get the free meal the Fisher caught. ;)

Keith

The larger predator could be a vegan.
 
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