Show Notes:

The question comes up again and again every whitetail deer hunting season, you saw a doe with fawns and are not sure if you should take a shot. Or worse, you did harvest the doe and then noticed the fawns, will they survive the winter? On this episode I answer this questions with more than just opinions and feelings, I dig down to the real facts.

Facts:

• Almost all fawns are completely weened by September 1st.
• Bear cubs will not usually survive the winter without their mother because bears are primarily predators.
• Deer fawns do not rely on their mother to hunt or teach them hunting strategy.
• Fawns are fully equipped to join the heard by the end of August.
• Fawns will be easily assimilated into the heard upon loosing their mother, if they haven’t been already.
• Does may still be wet in late December, but that does NOT mean fawns are dependent on them.
• The game commission times the seasons to make sure fawns are not still dependent on their mothers.
• It is the mother deer that kick their sons out of the heard once they are old enough to breed. They do not remain a family unit for long.