Dozens of baby deer orphaned in Montgomery County

Growth in the area is forcing the fawns from their homes

HOUSTON – Dozens of baby deer are causing concern for a Houston area wildlife rehabilitation center. The organization Friends of Texas Wildlife tells Local 2 growth in Montgomery County is forcing animals from their homes and leaving many fawns orphaned.

On any given day, the Friends of Texas Wildlife Intake Center is full of animals who are being nursed back to health. The 24/7 effort is made up of dozens of volunteers. They say this year they've been called to help more baby deer than ever before. They believe the influx is caused by Montgomery County's rapid growth.

"As the animals get squeezed out of where they'd normally want to be, I think it's a combination of losing habitat for the animals and also people just coming into contact with them more often," said Center Director Lisa Wolling.

In some cases, the fawns have been hit by cars, attacked by dogs, and orphaned. Most of the rehabilitation is done at homes by specially trained volunteers. It's done over a period of up to eight months, until the fawns are able to be re-released to the wild.

So far this season, the wildlife rehabilitation center has taken in 62 fawns.

"A typical season would be around 30 fawns, and that's a lot. That's $1,000 a fawn. So if you do the math, we're going to be hurting for the year like we've never hurt before. I'm not positive how we're going to pull this off," said Friends of Texas Wildlife President Janette Winkelmann.

The non-profit operates strictly on donations and is now appealing to the public, trying to raise more money to help the animals that can't help themselves.

The rehab workers say finding a place to release the deer can is also a challenge. They are always looking for landowners who have 20 or more acres outside of an urban environment.

For more information on Friends of Texas Wildlife or to donate, visit FTWL.org.