It might NOT be a good idea…

You’ve found a small, help­less fawn curled up in the brush. You move away from it, and watch for a while for the mother deer to return.
An hour passes, no mother. So the fawn is an orphan, right?

Accord­ing to wildlife infor­ma­tion sources, 99% of fawns found are not orphans. They state that unless there is a dead doe nearby, chances are the fawn has just been left hid­den, await­ing the mother’s return. She may not return until well after dark. They also rec­om­mend that fawns raised by humans (you must be licensed to do this) be with at least six other fawns. They are herd ani­mals, and if raised alone will imprint on the human and will not func­tion well in the wild.

So — what to do if you find a fawn? Search the area to see if the mother has been injured or killed. If not, leave the fawn alone. If you do find the doe and it is no longer able to care for the fawn, call your state Depart­ment of Nat­ural Resources or your local ani­mal control.

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