The awe of a fawn

Buck fawn skullLast August, I had the opportunity to get a fawn that had been hit by a car. I called the warden, got a tag and it was off to the taxidermist. Maybe a little morbid, but unless you are willing to use a tag to shoot a fawn, there are few ways to aquire the young deer. This week, I brought it home to my office.

The woman who did the taxiermy work did an incredible job on the fine details. The fawn’s eyes, lashes, ear hair and whiskers are exact. It is amazing to look at the small body and the characteristis and then look at the buck above it and the changes and simularlities.

The fawn was about two months old and his pedicals were just beginning to form.  The skull is close to the same size as my coyote’s skull but a bit more rounded on the top.  This is the first deer skull that I have that has the bottom jaw with it.  The taxidermists that I have used before only clean the top of the skull.  This fawn skull has the front bottom teeth; two main front teeth and then three smaller slivers of teeth on each side for a total of 8. 

Nature can be cruel. The increasing deer population will continue to encroach into busy, populated areas resulting in more car accidents and unfortunate deaths.

This is another great teaching tool that I can use for any of my presentations. Until then, he is going to live on the top of my bookshelf.

 

 

 

 

 

1 Comment

  1. A beautiful specimen of nature❤️

You May Also Enjoy…

I’d rather have a coyote

How can you not be excited when you are checking trail cameras? The suspense, the unknowing... one of the first pulls of the season gave us quite a shock. A dog.  A big brown, pit bull looking dog at the Sky Condo. It looks healthy enough but the last thing we...

Name that scat

We spent a few hours in the woods last weekend and I came across this pile of scat on the side of an old log.  It almost looked like the mystery critter could sit on the log and use it as a toilet seat. Who left this behind? It looks like turkey poop but there is...

The thrill of your first deer

Growing up in Millinocket, my friend Matt was surrounded by family members who were passionate hunters. He developed a deep love of the outdoors and exploring the woods and waters of Maine. But, like many kids, he became involved with school-related activities and the...

Recent Posts

Meet The Author

Erin Merrill, author of And a Strong Cup of Coffee, is president of Women of the Maine Outdoors, a senior writer for Drury Outdoors, a contributor to the Northwoods Sporting Journal and passionate all things Maine, Hunting, and the Outdoors.

LEARN MORE >>