Leave antelope fawn alone Published July 8, 2010 By Staff Reports 90th Civil Engineer Squadron F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYO. -- It's antelope fawn season again; please remember that it is very important to not touch them and to leave them alone. Though they may appear abandoned, they are actually using their instinct and just "hiding." Immediately after birth, mothers leave the fawns alone to lay and hide while they go off to feed and keep predators away from the fawn. When humans approach baby antelope, they do not get up and run like adult antelope would. A fawn's natural instinct is to remain still. The mother antelope will return about every five hours to feed and check on the fawn. In some cases fawns "hide" in plain sight; e.g., public areas, parking lots, sidewalks or gutters. If you see a fawn in a dangerous area or where it may come in close contact with humans, contact the base game warden or the natural resources manager. Though fawns may appear abandoned or simply too cute not to touch, do not touch them. Large numbers of fawn are inadvertently killed because they are handled or approached. Approaching them may cause them to run out into traffic, and touching them may cause the mother to reject them due them carrying human scent back. Fawns are enjoyable to watch, but for their sake please only watch them from a distance. The game warden has already witnessed one sad example of a mother rejecting a fawn this season due to it having been handled by a human and carrying the human scent on it. Generally, people have good intentions when coming in contact with wildlife but mistakenly harm the wildlife; this is especially true in regarding newborn wildlife such as the fawns. If a fawn is truly abandoned, the best thing to do is to leave it alone in the hopes that another nursing doe in the herd will adopt it. The game warden has been approached by many well meaning people, thinking the fawns have been abandoned or require "rescue," and want to raise it at home or on a ranch. It is a violation of the law to possess wildlife without permits and proper training. Once they have been removed from the wild environment, they become quite unpredictable and are unable to be released back to the wild. For any questions or issues regarding antelope fawns or other wildlife, call Lori Ford, the natural resource manager, at 773-5494, or Brian Julian, the base game warden, at 773-3544.