‘Crying fawn’ found crouched by its dead mom. But there’s a happy ending, NH cops say

The mysterious sound of “loud crying” in the woods next to a New Hampshire neighborhood led police to the last thing they expected: A fawn wailing over the body of its dead mother.

Police in Salem posted the “tear jerker” story on Facebook June 3, admitting it was a rare case in which police and animal control officers decided to ignore their own guidelines.

“99% of the time, wildlife are NOT orphaned and their Momma’s are out foraging for food,” Salem police said in the post. “But in this case, a Pelham resident checked on a loud crying noise he heard in the woods behind his house.... (and) found this crying fawn laying by her deceased momma.”

The man, who was not identified, reported he heard the crying before going to work that morning and it was still going on when he got home that night, according to the post.

“After further investigation of the scene, it was clear that momma was hit by a car on a nearby busy road. She made it back to her baby where she succumbed to her injuries by her fawn’s side,” police said.

Rather than allowing nature to take its course, Salem officials decided to track down an animal rehabilitation group willing to take in the fawn and raise it, the post said. One of the town’s animal control officers then stepped up to drive the fawn four hours to its new home, officials said.

Since then, nearly 5,000 people have reacted on Facebook to the department’s happy ending story, with many of them thanking police and the neighbor for getting involved.

“Very sad but amazing to know the mother came back to the fawn,” posted Nancy Cobb Smith on the department’s Facebook page. “And thank goodness this person heard its cries and went into the woods. Poor little thing would not have survived.”