Whitetail Fawn Ozark National Forest (pictures)
The weather in Arkansas the last few days has been some of the best I’ve experienced in quite some time! Beautiful sunny days with highs in the mid 70’s combined with low humidity made for the perfect weekend weather to get out and enjoy nature.
One of the favorite pastimes my family and I enjoy, is getting out on our ATV’s and taking in some of the beauty of the Ozark National Forest. Over the years, riding has given us the opportunity to see and photograph some beautiful terrain as well as lots of wildlife. We certainly weren’t let down this past weekend!
The dirt and gravel road we travel to the cabin where we spent the weekend, snakes it’s way through about 15 miles of mountains & valleys. The forest is spotted with privately owned property, but the further you go into the forest, the less houses and traffic you’ll see. The national forest is home to whitetail deer, black bear, wild turkey and unlimited squirrels, rabbits & small game.
Some 30 years ago when I was just a young lad, it wasn’t very often that you’d see a deer in the wild, but stricter hunting regulations and improved habitat has allowed the whitetail deer population to flourish over the years. It’s not uncommon to sit for hours in front of the cabin where we stayed, and watch deer eat shelled corn less than 30 yards away. (Some would call them pets, but they’re still wild!)
As we traveled the long, dusty road out of the forest yesterday on our way home, fortunately I decided to follow a slightly different route than normal. As we rounded a corner, my wife and I both spotted a deer on the side of the road. No big deal…we see this all the time, but something odd happened this time. The deer stopped for a split second, then as it leaped across the road, we noticed something drop to the ground. Keep in mind we were probably 100 yards away at the time. As we got closer, we noticed that what had dropped to the ground, was a tiny little fawn! It was now obvious that momma had
commanded the little one drop and stay as motionless as possible. This is a natural reaction for the fawns as they normally blend with the surroundings and laying still allows them to be passed over by predators. The problem for this little one is that he wasn’t very camouflaged. He was actually laying on the side of the gravel road!
As we approached very slowly, he didn’t move a muscle…only occasionally blinking his eyes. After digging around in the truck for a few moments, I finally found my digital camera and took a couple of pictures. We could see momma staying close by out in the 
woods. After a moment of enjoying the little one, we very slowly moved down the road, making sure he didn’t jump up and get hit by our trailer. When we were about 150 yards away, I watched in my mirror and noticed another truck come by and the driver got out to check on the deer. I could tell that when he noticed the fawn was fine, he got back in his truck and moved on.
I’m really grateful that my wife and I got the opportunity to see something this unusual and special! Seeing a little baby like this in the wild, is something few will ever get to see. I’m certainly thankful that I decided to take a different way home this day. It’s something that I’ll remember and cherish for many years to come.
Have a great day!
