Deer are amazing, beautiful, clever, adaptable and very athletic animals.

They can live in the deep of the forest, on farm lands and even in the patches of woodlands and fields surrounding the suburbs.

They have shown the ability to avoid detection and teach their young the lesson even from birth. The fawn is born with a beautiful row of spots that appear both random and in rows. Nature allows the fawn to blend into the natural surroundings with dappled sunlight and shady spots helping the blending even more.

A doe will leave the young fawns in the high grasses while they watch nearby. The fawns will soon grow into stronger yearlings and be able to travel with their mothers. The fawn deer is just like the young of our species in that at times they don’t do what is expected of them from their mothers. They don’t follow the rules and they leave the comparative safety of their “back yard hiding place” and wander about without the adults looking out for them.

A great example of this occurred in our community a few weeks back when my neighbors noticed a fawn frolicking around their yards.

The young deer was definitely enjoying the open yards and was out of the high grass and under brush cover his mother left him in for safety. You can imagine Toddy Anderson’s surprise when the fawn buck decided her flower borders were a good resting place.

Jim and Sylvia Bonetti observed the activities as well and wished that their son James, who is a photo journalism intern who attends Westminster College, was home to take a photo.

The fawn left the yard but to everyone’s surprise returned and went back into the flower garden alongside of the home. James was home this time and was able to take the shot of the buck fawn resting in the flowers.

The mother doe must have returned and called for her youngster because he became alert and scooted back into the safety of the woods.

To their credit the rural neighbors understood that this was not an abandoned baby animal but a youngster who was exploring when he should have been laying low.

Many well intentioned people call the Pennsylvania Game Commission or sportsmen’s clubs for help with an “abandoned” baby of all species of wildlife. Raccoons, rabbits and other baby animals frequently show up in yards and they need to be left alone and unhandled.

For wildlife the scent of a human on the young can deter the mother from accepting the youngster back as their own, which dooms the baby.

Many people see a baby animal and think that it is cute and illegally possess the animal until it gets older and larger.

Recently the PGC was sad to report that a hand- fed bear in the commonwealth had to be euthanized at one of our state parks as it lost all fear of humans and was approaching people for food.

The PGC will fine individuals for illegal possession of wildlife and then, most likely, that animal will either be destroyed as it usually cannot return to the wild due to losing most of its natural instincts.

A baby animal needs to be with his or her mother for protection and valuable life lessons on survival to adulthood.

n A reminder to all hunters that the 2011-12 hunting licenses are now on sale at local sport shops and department stores as well as online.

The only problem with buying your license online is that if you are unsure about an issue or have some questions, you can find it pretty frustrating.

The first applications for antlerless deer will be accepted Monday by county treasurers by mail only. There are changes in place by the PGC to allow mentored youth hunters to have an adult mentor transfer their doe license to the youth to use during legal antlerless deer season hunts.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.