Millbank man rescues unborn fawn after finding doe killed on road

Jurgen Mannhardt was faced with an unexpected situation earlier this week when encountered a road kill incident on his way to work.

Mannhardt, 70, lives in Millbank and occasionally works as a contractor for his son. He was on his way to a job in Kincardine early Monday morning when he noticed a dead deer and car parts on the road. 

"I noticed there was a great deal of a mess of road kill that I was coming up to on the opposite lane and I thought 'Oh something really got creamed here,'" he told CBC News.

He said he saw something move as he drove by and decided to take a closer look. To his surprise, the dead deer was pregnant and one of her two babies was still alive. 

Mannhardt helped with the birth of the fawn on the road. He quickly wrapped her in a jacket and placed her in a green Sobeys grocery bin he had in his truck.

"All I wanted to do was rescue it," he said. "There's nothing there to think about. You just do what you got to do."

Mannhardt said he then drove to Kincardine to a house used by him and other co-workers when they have work in the area. He said he didn't go to work that day to take care of the fawn.

"I went there and washed her in the kitchen sink with warm water and I had to wait until 8 a.m. when Sobeys opened and I went to Sobeys and got some goat milk because I know that's one of the best things you can do in this case," he said.

Mannhardt said he waited until 9 a.m. for Shoppers Drug Mart to open to buy a large syringe to be able to feed the fawn. After making several calls, he eventually drove two hours to the Guelph Humane Society to drop off the fawn so she could be taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility.

"I had her in the front seat in this Sobeys grocery bucket and I had to hold her down in my hand while I was driving because she was trying to stand up all the time and I was afraid that was going to be another accident waiting to happen," Mannhardt said.

He also gave the fawn a name, fitting for the situation he found her in and what she meant to him. Mannhardt named her Schatz, which means "sweet treasure" in German.

Baby animals, mothers very active this time of year 

The Guelph Humane Society says it was the quick response of Mannhardt that saved the life of the fawn.

The humane society said drivers need to be on the look out for baby animals and their mothers, who are very active this time of year. 

"They're having their young, they're teaching them how to hunt or scavenge and there is more risk of being hit by a vehicle, attacked by another animal," Victoria Welsh manager of animal services told CBC News.

She said their wildlife program have high call volumes this time of year and even respond to calls that are outside of their jurisdiction.

"We will always help out when we can," she said. "We will never say no, especially when it comes to facilitating the transport to a rehab facility. We want those animals to receive help."

Welsh praised Mannhardt's actions saying he took the right steps to make sure the fawn got the help she needed. 

"[Transport] was on the same day. With fawns because they can be easily stressed out, they are very nervous creatures by nature, we always try to do it as soon as possible so they can be put in the proper environment," she said.

She said the fawn is now at Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge, where she will be rehabilitated before she's released back into the wild.