Real Life Bambi Saved from Womb after Mother Killed
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Weighing a mere 17.6 ounces (500 grams) and just 6 inches (2.4 centimeters) tall, this tiny fawn was rescued from the womb of a muntjac deer after being taken to a wildlife hospital when it was struck by a car.
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Christened as Rupert, he was delivered by cesarean 3 weeks early and will be growing up without his mother’s love — veterinarians battled to save her, but she died shortly afterwards.
While things didn’t look good for the little creature’s survival, caregivers at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire say that Rupert will make a full recovery after his dramatic entry into this world.
Now 6 days old, the wee thing is being held in an incubator, and has just opened his eyes.
“Rupert’s mother had very severe injuries.” said Les Stocker, founder of Tiggywinkles.
“We brought him out and got him breathing and then he went into an incubator on oxygen. He is now being fed by a tube.”
“Deer are very, very tricky but this one has spirit. He’s an extremely feisty little guy and quite pushy.”
While nothing more than a handful at this age, Rupert will likely grow to about 37 inches (1 meter) in length, and weigh between 22 and 40 pounds (10 to 18 kilos) when he’s fully grown.
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Male muntjacs have short antlers usually 4 inches long or less, and use them to push enemies off balance so they can wound them with their 2-inch upper canine teeth. Their short antlers can regrow, but they tend to fight for territory with their tusks.
Inhabiting tropical regions, the deer have no seasonal rut. Mating can take place at any time of year, but this behavior is retained by populations introduced to temperate countries.
Also known as barking deer, muntjacs are the oldest known deer, appearing 15 to 35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France and Germany.
The present-day species are native to south-east Asia and can be found from India and Sri Lanka to southern China, Taiwan, Japan (Boso Peninsula and Oshima Island), and Indonesian islands.
Reeves’s Muntjac has been introduced to England and is now common in some areas there. An unspecified species of muntjac was introduced to the grounds of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire in the 19th century by the then Duke of Bedford.
Muntjac colonies exist throughout England below Derbyshire, and the population continues to grow, with small groupings known to be seen in large urban parks in the Islington, Highgate, East Ham, Finchley and Greenwich areas of London.
Larger numbers of muntjac escaped from Whipsnade Zoo, and they are the more likely ancestors, in addition to other releases.
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
Photo Les Stocker / Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital
The Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital is widely known in Britain for taking in all sorts of creatures — from hedgehogs falling victim to road and garden accidents, to owls and swans — where they are given a fighting chance for survival at the wildlife hospital.
All wild animal casualties are treated free of charge and released back into the wild once they’re fully fit. No sick, injured or orphaned wild creature is ever turned away. With no ‘put down policies’ in place, euthanasia is only practiced as a last resort. Any creature unable to be released is maintained at the Hospital or their Field Centre in as natural conditions as possible.
Les Stocker started the family run operation as a hobby in 1978 when wildlife rescue wasn’t practiced much in Britain. The center became so overwhelmed with incoming creatures that he expanded it with a new building in 1985.
“It just got harder and harder to fit everything in.” said Les Stocker. That’s when the idea came to build a wildlife hospital which opened in 1991, now known as St. Tiggywinkles
Visit the Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital website to learn more, where they treat over 10,000 animal casualties every year, and open 24/7, 365 days a year to receive British wildlife casualties.
UPDATE:
Sadness falls upon St. Tiggywinkles, as the wee creature that captured hearts of people throughout the world this week has died.
Dicing with death since his birth, little Rupert had all the symptoms of a premature human baby — his lungs weren’t inflating properly and problems materialized when he was unable to ingest the lamb’s milk staff had been feeding him because he needed his mother’s bacteria.
Staff at the wildlife center felt his survival was unpredictable since the fawn was only their second baby deer which they’ve had to deliver by cesarean, so everything was under trial and error.
Les Stocker told The Bucks Herald that everyone was worried about him because they hadn’t seen anything so tiny.
“The nurses are absolutely choked as well as the foster mother who took him on. It is all a new science looking after wildlife casualties and this is just one more to add to our experience.”
He said next time they’ll try warm milk straight from a goat at a nearby farm.
Special thanks to Beth for providing information in the comments for the following story captured on video — a similar incident to this little creature’s story, but with a far happier ending:
Rescue of Freeway the Fawn
Sources: Daily Mail and Wikipedia
Related stories:
Hedgehogs and Healing Hands at Hospital
That is so cute.
so cute..
Oh my…that is one of the cutest little creatures I think I’ve ever seen. I hope Rupert continues to do well.
That is simply precious and makes me happy to be human. –Cheryl Janis, Planet Pink n’ Green, http://www.planetpinkngreen.com
Hi,
It looks so cute and sweet. But the embarrassing thing is it has to lead with out its mother. Any how it doesn’t matter. Take care of it properly.
Sadly, this adorable little creature that put a smile on so many people’s faces wasn’t on this earth for very long.
Sad to know that it died. That looks so cute. How I wish it survived.
I saw about this on the news before it died. I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t check here!
Was the driver on his way to a STAG-do?
AW… It is so adorable. Reminds me of Bambi cartoon movie. Poor Bambi without a mother.
The deer was so cute, very sad that it died but of course its life would have not been great having all the health problems and having to live in captivity.
Very sad, James, he was so adorable. Hopefully something good came of this with the publicity to create awareness for Tiggywinkles and other wildlife hospitals.
Actually Sum, Rupert would not have had to live in captivity if he would have survived and grown to become healthy. The center does everything possible to introduce the animals back into their native habitat if they’re confident they’ll survive in doing so.
What a poor cute little Bambi. He is gone so weak. I hope he will survive without his mother. Wish i also have one same like this adorable one.
Braxton, you apparently haven’t read this article very closely.
This tears me apart. I wish people wouldn’t drive so recklessly. It just makes me mad. When are people going to learn we need to be careful around animals. We need to treat them with respect!!!
Such a precious little life that never stood a chance. What a beautiful creature, I’m so sad that he didn’t make it.
yeah i feel so sad as well. good thing they save the bambi. we should love animals and treat them well.
Ohh !! So cute !! my little girl also watch the picture and she felt in love with this little bambi….
It is so sad that Rupert didn’t make it. Thank you to the staff at Tiggywinkles Animal Hospital for doing their best to give Rupert a chance at life. I’m sure your efforts, dedication and love were felt by Rupert…. as well as the rest of the world.
Thanks for this post, Deborah. What a dreadful shame.
But he was such a pretty, feisty little guy. At least everyone tried to do everything they could for him. Humans can be nice sometimes, and I often forget that these days.
In an age of dog eat dog world, it is nice to know there are some very good human beings. Only if we could show the same love and affection to another human being regardless of race, sex, religion, origin, the world would be a much better place to live.
There was a story here in the states about a deer that was killed and a passer by stopped, delivered to fawns and one fawn survived. The passer by fed the surviving Fawn the mother’s milk right on the side of the road. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNY6EqBTTa0
Thought this may be helpful information.
my heart has broken….
Thanks to all, and especially to Beth for providing a very touching story captured on video about the rescue of another fawn in California, U.S. which I’ve included at the bottom of this post. It’s enough to bring tears to one’s eyes
SOOOOOOOO CUTE! omg its almost as cute as my dog,Suki
I wonder how many Abortionist’s will cry their eyes out over saving this little fawn?
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I JUST YESTERDAY WAS SENT THE PICTURES AND STORY ABOUT LITTLE RUPERT. I WAS SO UPSET WHEN I READ THAT HE DID NOT MAKE IT.
I THINK IT’S A WONDERFUL THING THAT THERE IS SUCH A PLACE FOR THESE ANIMALS TO BE CARED FOR.
I HOPE LITTLE RUPERT IS NOW WITH HIS MOM.
HOPFULLY HE IS.
interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in da field.