Motherless baby deer begs family for help and it changes all their lives
Much like human babies, it’s important for animals to stay close to their moms for a while after they are born.
It’s a critical period of time when their mother teaches them how to survive on their own, and takes care of them.
If they don’t have their mother at this age, they might not make it.
But a few years ago, the Rasmussen family found a baby deer outside their house and he was way too young to be on his own.
Dawn Rasmussen’s husband heard the deer crying outside, so he went to check it out.
As soon as he went outside, the deer ran up to him. The deer got so close that he stood one of his hooves on his foot.
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The family decided to name the deer Thor and took it to the vet to get checked out.
But the vet did not have any space to take care of the fawn.
All of the experts had to assume that the mother of this fawn was dead, so there was no one else to take care of him. Dawn felt a lot of sympathy for the baby, telling Geobeats:
“The fact that Thor was up and around was a really bad sign.”
Because the fawn had nowhere else to go, the Rasmussens felt that they had to take care of him.
But they wanted to be sure that he was raised like a wild animal, not a pet.
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They put a lot of effort into making sure that he would be wild and know how to survive on his own.
After building a large enclosure for him outside, they were always making sure that he was okay.
Dawn slept outside with Thor for the first month just to make sure that he was safe from predators.
She fed him from a bottle until he was old enough to take care of himself, and she was so happy to see that he had survived the critical time period.
The family was so successful at rehabilitating Thor that he is now over two years old and he has found a herd of deer to spend time with.
Now as a grown-up, Thor often spends time with the herd of deer in the woods.
He is often gone for weeks and sometimes even months as he finds his way in the deer world, but he always comes back to visit his beloved humans.
One of his favorite things is when Dawn feeds him from a bottle.
Now Thor knows that he can always come to his family when he needs them.
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Although he now has all the skills to succeed in the wilderness, Thor remembers how supportive his human family was.
Recently, when he had a leg injury, he ended up at the Rasmussens’ porch seeking care.
Dawn knew just what to do to get him healthy again. She cleaned his wound and massaged his leg and exercised with him until he built up enough strength to return to the wild.
Building a close relationship with Thor has made the Rasmussens the trusted family for all the deer.
It’s incredible the amount of trust these people have been able to build between themselves and the deer.
Now, the other deer also come to hang out with Dawn in her backyard too.
For her part, Dawn says that knowing Thor has made her see nature in a whole new way. She says:
“Thor’s been a great inter-species ambassador. It makes my life so wonderful. I really treasure every moment I have with Thor.”
Watch the video below to hear about this adorable bond from the family themselves!
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Source: GeoBeats Animals, World Deer, Sciencing, Thor The Deer