“Don’t Make Me Come Over There!” (Even Deer Get the Glare)

A mother’s or father’s look can say so much.

There’s the smile at the elementary school pickup line that says, I’ve missed you. There’s the questioning raise of an eyebrow that asks if starting a ten-page English paper and presentation the night before it’s due is truly the correct path to academic excellence.

And then, of course, you have the glare. The one that clearly communicates: Don’t try me if you know what’s good for you.

Of all those facial expressions, I must admit I’ve long been fascinated by the power of the glare. It carries so much weight. A mother’s glare is a powerful, non-verbal warning system. It communicates disappointment, boundary-setting, or danger without a single word. Kids learn this look quickly. It means: change your behavior and do it immediately.

Enter Momma Doe

I’m no expert in wildlife management, but earlier this week, I’m pretty sure I witnessed the whitetail deer version of this look.

I was working in my home office when I happened to glance out the window. There, standing in my neighbor’s and my backyard, was a mother doe and her two fawns, feasting on a fresh buffet of greens, clover, and broad-leaf plants. The two fawns were incredibly small with reddish-brown coats and bright white spots. Whitetail does give birth to one to three fawns in spring and early summer. For the first week, a doe will leave its fawns hidden to sleep all day, while it forages for food.

As time goes on, the fawns begin to get stronger and transition from a hidden newborn into an active, independent explorer. I’m guessing these two were born in May—because by day 30 to 60, fawns begin to follow their mother, frolic and play, and start to get more adventurous.

And boy, were these two adventurous.

Testing the Boundaries (and Mom’s Patience)

The first fawn decided to check out the grass in the sunnier section of the yard. The little guy—and I’m calling him a guy because he had to be pretty dense to ignore his mother’s warnings—kept drifting further and further to the front part of my neighbor’s yard. A step here, a step there. It’s like he was trying to test his mother’s patience.

I watched the mother keep an eye on him, though she was trying to focus on getting her fill of the branches — or, as she probably viewed it, eating her first hot meal in peace. It’s tough business nursing and raising fawns; she needed to keep her strength up. But the fawn kept creeping away. Then, not to be outdone, the second one drifted from the shadows into the sun too. “If he can do it, why can’t I?”

I swear, I saw the mom look up from her patch of clover and sigh. I could practically hear her muttering under her breath: “Where the heck are you two going? Don’t make me come over there!”

The Clover Patch Grounding

Naturally, she had to go round them up. I could practically hear her throwing out the classic line: “I brought you into this woods, and I can take you out of it.”

She disappeared around the corner of my neighbor’s house, chasing after the fawns, so I missed the actual stern talking-to and groundings, but I’m positive it was a good one. Rumor has it that they are currently banned from the clover patch for the next two weeks and had their spots confiscated.

You go, Momma Doe. Parents everywhere are on your side.

Have you spotted any adventurous wildlife in your neck of the woods lately? Drop a comment below—and let me know if the local parents out there look just as exhausted as Momma Doe.