Rejected by Mother, Rare Fawn Gets A Second Chance

Dragon, a rare piebald fawn, was rejected by his mother, but soon may romp with the other deer at Michigan farm. (Deer Tracks Junction photos used with permission.)

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Anyone who was ever that kid left out for being judged strange in some way is likely to flat-out love Dragon.

The rare piebald fawn is indeed strange looking, as far as fawns go, with less than 1 percent of the deer population born with the genetic defect that gives them their odd color pattern. They are so rare in looks, in fact, that Dragon’s mother rejected him shortly after birth at Deer Tracks Junction, a working farm in Cedar Springs, MI.

Since then, the staff has been bottle-feeding the fawn, WOOD-TV.com reports, and making rejection — and acceptance — a life lesson.

Thanks to the special attention, Dragon will be able to join the herd grazing in one of the farm pastures. In the wild, he would have either died or grown up with a target on his back, as the large brown-and-white spotting pattern caused by a genetic defect makes piebalds stand out to predators.

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• Pig Goes Hog Wild, Ends Up in Pokey

Deer Tracks Junction offers agricultural tours and other educational opportunities for children and adults.