A rare white-faced fawn found a loving home at an animal farm in Michigan, after being rejected by his mother after birth. The baby deer is named Dragon.
This adorable little baby deer’s milky white face and sparkly blue eyes are enough to melt anybody’s heart but not his mother. Born in May 2015, he was abandoned soon after birth by his mother, a doe named Bunny, due to the fact that he looked different from her other fawns. And then he was not allowed to join in any deer games. Bunny had a brown fawn at the same time and is raising him fine. Bunny is a Piebald deer, a special breed that carries a genetic defect causing large patches of white fur.
Dragon got lucky being born at Deer Tracks Junction, an animal farm in Cedar Springs, Michigan. “Being a piebald causes many different health risks and a whitetail deer will instinctually reject any babies that do not have a good chance of survival,” farm owner Hilary Powell said. After Dragon was born, Hilary quickly whisked the fawn away from Bunny. She has bonded to her like a mother. Hilary’s 19-year-old son chose the name Dragon for the fawn, “because he knew it would be tough for him to survive.”
Piebald deer’s odd coloring makes them stand out, rather than blend in to the foliage. And they tend to have hearing and vision impairments. All that spells trouble for a prey species in the wild as they lack the appropriate camouflage to hide from predators. Normally they have black nose but Dragon’s eyes are blue and his nose is pink. A pink nose is actually a detriment in the wild, because if they don’t have shade, their nose is very sensitive to the sun and can get sunburn.
Dragon has a compromised immune system but he does not have many problems in walking and running. He has learned to prance and frolic like other deer at the educational and tourism facility. He is doing fine now. We appreciate the efforts of owners at Deer Tracks Junction.
The white-faced fawn abandoned by his mother after birth.
The abandoned white-faced baby deer found a fairy tale ending on Deer Tracks Junction, an animal farm in Cedar Springs, Michigan.
It’s this beautiful face that caused his mother to reject him.
The white-faced fawn was nearly stomped to death by his mother as he looked different from his brothers. Killing a piebald fawn is typical behavior for a deer.
Piebald’s odd coloration makes their survival tough in the wild.
Only about one percent of deer are born this way. Very few survive in the wild after the mother rejects them.
Piebald deer are rare in captivity and extremely rare in the wild.
Dragon is Piebald. In addition to his face, his legs and underside are also white.
Dragon runs in the grassy field.
Dragon appears to have no problems running. He bounds with gusto across the grassy field, his spindly legs flying.
Dragon got a human surrogate mother in the form of his farm owner, Hilary Powell.
Powell fed Dragon with a bottle four times a day, gave him vitamins and her family took care of him as well.
His name might be fierce but Dragon is adorable.
There are 150 deer on the farm – not to mention elk, Tibetan yaks, bunnies, pigs, goats and a lot of other animals. But Dragon outshines them all.
The little guy has grown bigger now.
He meets farm visitors now and plays deer games. According to facebook page of Deer Tracks Junction, he isn’t doing great but is okay.
Dragon is being cared for with lots of love.
Thanks to the efforts and work of Deer Tracks Junction, the deer baby is now thriving.
