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Show News Notes from the STATE FISH & GAME Mid-June and early July is the period when most of the ""s mule deer in Utah have their fawns. It is also the season of the year, when many people are afield fishing, hiking or picnicking. picnick-ing. Every year scores of young deer are picked up and brought into town by well meaning people peo-ple who have run across the seemingly helpless and abandoned aban-doned fawns while pursuing their outdoor sports or work. . I These young deer are then raised as pets by the finder's family or turned over to the game farms or wardens to worry about. In very few cases is it true that the fawns have been abandoned aban-doned by their mothers. The does hide their fawns in the brush while they are out feeding feed-ing or watering and the fawns spend the greater portion of their first few days laying concealed con-cealed and practically motionless. motion-less. It is understandable that anyone discovering a hidden fawn and not seeing the doe around will come to the conclusion conclu-sion that it has been abandoned and will, therefore, die unless it is taken home and fed on a bottle. However, in most cases it has not been abandoned by the mother as she is probably ' - off in 1 the brush someplace watching the intruder but too frightened to show herself. It should be remembered that the young mule deer relies upon remaining motionless with its spotted coloration blending into the lights and shadows of the foliage to escape detection. The doe deer instinctively tries to draw attention away from the spot where her fawn is concealed and will therefore seldom show herself in the vicinity when someone approaches the hiding , place. Everybody is urged not to molest the young spotted deer tha they may find on their trips out-of-doors unless they know for certain that the mother moth-er has been killed. Unless there is positiveevidence that the fawn has been abandoned, it is far kinder to leave it where it is found as in practically all cases it will be well cared for by the doe. The game department cannot give any person title to live game. In cases where young deer are picked up and raised as pets they do not become the property of the people of the r""" 111 " "" state. Such possession is one of custodianship only and is therefore there-fore subject to reclamation by I the state. |