Two Halifax district RCMP officers saved a newborn deer Saturday night after colliding with its mother.
Cst. Derek Bigger and Auxillary Cst. Darren Forsyth were patrolling an area 50 kilometres northeast of Halifax when a deer ran out in front of their police vehicle. They were unable to avoid hitting the animal, and when they circled back to assess the damage, the officers noticed that the deceased deer was pregnant and had expelled its amniotic sac.
According to the CBC, the officers saw that the fawn was alive and trying to kick and push its way out of the sac. Working quickly, they grabbed a blanket and a knife and gently extracted the deer. The fawn opened its eyes and began breathing almost immediately. The officers cut the umbilical cord and used a bottle of water to rinse dirt and gravel off of it.
While they were pleased that the deer was alive, the officers realized they needed to get it to a safe space as soon as possible. They called Hope Swinimer of Hope for Wildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Seaforth, NS, and told her they were coming in.
“The constable said ‘I’ve been around to deliver lots of babies, but never a fawn!’ and he was pretty excited. But they did everything right,” Swinimer told the CBC.
The fawn did not sustain any serious injuries beyond a wound on its tail. Swinimer is optimistic about the deer’s survival. After it gains a little more strength it will be introduced to three other fawns living at the Hope for Wildlife shelter and then reintroduced into the wild.
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