White Tail Fawn Photo

http://gf.nd.gov/photos/2457

The link is to a wildlife photo contest runner up a photo of a whitetail fawn. I am wondering about the group's thoughts on takings such a photo (the close proximity) and the appropriateness of a State Game And Fish department awarding it a prize.

My feeling is the photographer should not have been that close but I understand human nature. What I don't understand is the department awarding the prize, thereby condoning the behavior.

Well Ross, the devil is in the detail. Generally such close contact with young wildlife of any species is not encouraged. A lot of negative things can happen. In this case, the photographer might have kept the doe from nursing her fawn. Maybe his trail might lead a predator to the fawn which has the instinct to lie motionless and still. They have no odor. Actively searching for a fawn or other young wildlife certainly is discouraged and could be citable by wardens as harassment. We don't know the details here. If the photog just happened to stumble onto this fawn and took a quick shot and moved on, then probably no harm was done. But we don't know and guess we never will but we do know what to do if we have such an encounter ourselves.

Since the photographer took the image with an iphone - I'm willing to bet they stumbled upon the fawn, took the picture and left

I hope Luke is correct. Fawn photography is huge in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia , specifically the Big Meadows area, every spring. I am sad to say I have seen some terrible behavior there by photographers. Groups finding a fawn in the brush taking turns getting that great closeup or 50 of them. Calling others over to do the same. The poor fawn is scared to death. They do not realize that they are putting their scent on the fawn which could lead to death. A doe spends most of her time licking the fawn in it's early days to keep a scent off. More than once I have yelled at others to stop. The growing numbers of coyotes seems to have greatly reduced the numbers of fawns seen every year.

The biggest mess I witnessed was a photo tour group seeing a general area where a doe bedded down her fawn in Big Meadows. The group surrounded the small area and then the photo tour leader walked into the area to spook the fawn so her group could get "The" photo of a fawn. The poor fawn got up and began to run but there was no way out as the area was surrounded with photographers. I yelled at them to give the fawn an opening to run out of. Sad you have to threaten getting a Park Ranger to stop some from endangering an animal. I would rather miss a shot than disturb a fawn. Take your time and you will get what you are looking for. I have some beautiful fawn images.

Sorry for the rant but I am passionate about this subject.

Andrew

Peter, Luke and Andrew, as you have said that is the way some photographers act when they get a chance at a fawn. My biggest problem is not with the photographer but with the Game and Fish Department awarding it a prize in its annual photo contest.

I have a problem with all the situations described above. Each individual photographer who makes choices such as encroachment of the fawn but most disturbing is as Ross noted the Game & Fish Department awarding the prize. The Department appears to be on the same plane as the type of photo tour leaders that Andrew described. There are more of them when we like to admit.

Well, white-tailed deer are overly abundant (and are regularly culled in most states in this country for "population management" reasons) and not endangered, threatened, special concern etc. etc. I don't see a problem with Game & Fish awarding the prize. If this was an endangered or rare or special species with protections, I could see a conflict but as far as we know, this person stumbled upon it, took the picture with the iPhone and that was it.