Mother carrying a bottle and her pet dog. - Hunter Kuno ensures fawns' survival.
"I've got these little critters now. I'm working to keep them alive and hope to raise them up." This is what Pötzsch shares as he feeds a two-week-old doe with a bottle. He does this every two hours throughout the day. "I essentially step in as their mother, with the help of my dogs," describes the game farmer from Audenhain, who houses numerous deer, wild boar, and roe deer.
There's a particular reason why Pötzsch himself, who earns money through venison sausage production, is a deer rescuer. He has extensive experience in this field: "Out in the wild, these delicate creatures would be doomed." It takes about six weeks for Pötzsch to confidently confirm if the fawns will survive.
Rescued Fawns Require Helpers
The plight of the fawns doesn't leave Pötzsch untouched: one of the girls is motherless due to her mother being hit by a car. "The other one was rescued by animal rescuers, resulting in the mother rejecting it," he says angrily. This occurs often - fawns end up with the smell of humans on them, and their mothers then spurn them. "They use drones to protect the young ones from combine harvesters, but get way too close and scare them," Pötzsch grouses.
Pötzsch's makeshift deer rescue center will remain open until the end of June, and he eagerly anticipates more fawns in the coming weeks. Jack Russell Emma, Pötzsch's dog, takes great pleasure in caring for these fawns: "She acts as a surrogate mother and licks them clean."
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Source: symclub.org
