Deer rises from the ashes of northern fire

A fawn who was found curled up in the ashes of a massive wildfire in the La Loche area is now recovering from his burns.

Last week, frontline fire crews discovered the baby deer hiding behind a log in a patch of unburnt brush surrounded by the charred remnants of a forest hit by the massive David fire several days prior. There was no sign of a mother deer in the area.

The man who found the fawn, Justin Wolverine, radioed crew manager Alvin Maurice to come from the other end of the fire line to see what to do next.

“It was ready to run with whatever strength he had left. You could see a little burn here and there, like, the fawn’s legs, they were a little singed. And his nostrils were a little black from the ash,” Maurice said over the phone on Tuesday.

Understandably, the fawn’s heart was racing. “He was really, really scared,” Maurice said.

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While it’s common for fire crews to encounter bears on the line, Maurice said it’s uncommon to find injured animals.

“Bears, we usually try to chase them away or avoid them. A fawn is a different story.”

With his mind racing and not knowing what to do next, Maurice then radioed his supervisor to come by.

“I asked him if he had room for an extra passenger on the chopper,” he said with a laugh.

Maurice carried the deer to the helicopter and held him during transport.

At first the deer was a little skittish, but by the end of 10-minute ride “he was a little calm,” he said.

A conservation officer then took the deer – who the crew named David – and Maurice wasn’t sure what happened next.

Social media fame

Maurice posted a photo and story behind the deer’s rescue to a Facebook group called Saskatchewan Wildlife Photographers.

“I figured I’d just take a picture and share it. I thought it was pretty cool that we – including myself and my crews – were able to save this little deer, like take it out of harm’s way,” he said.

In the six days since, the photo has received more than 1,500 likes. The attention was something Maurice had not anticipated.

“I didn’t really know what kind of response I was gonna get when I posted that picture and people were asking me ‘where did it go, what happened to it?’” Maurice said.

A Facebook post by Wildlife Haven Wildlife Rescue in Dorintosh, near Meadow Lake, answered that question.

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“Turned out it was a happy ending,” Maurice said. 

David ended up in the rescue’s care last Thursday.

Mark Dallyn, the rescue’s wildlife rehabilitator, said a veterinarian has treated the moderate burns to David’s feet and ears.

“(David’s) acting quite painful on his feet so he’s on pain meds,” Dallyn said over the phone.

David will lose parts of his ears due the burns, he said, but other than that should be fine.

Comparing David’s recovery to the pictures of him in the charred woods had quite an impact.

“When I saw the picture of Alvin with the fawn, it gave me the biggest goosebumps ever. And to see all the people that came together …. It was just an amazing feeling,” Dallyn said.

The Healing Haven, which is funded entirely by donations and fundraisers, can take in anywhere from two to nine injured deer a year, usually in the summer.

Often, this is due to vehicle collisions or scraps with dogs, Dallyn said.

“He’s a lucky little fawn, that’s for sure,” he said.

David’s been paired with a fellow orphaned fawn.

“They took to each other right away. Laying together, and nuzzling each other, and helping each other through it. It’s a scary thing to be away from mom,” Dallyn said.

David will stay at the Healing Haven through winter, and will be released once he’s grown and the greens are out in spring.

“It’s just a matter of opening the door and he goes off and lives his wild life like he should,” Dallyn said.

claskowski@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk