Pronghorn doe with young fawn – Nikon D810, f9, 1/640, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This image was taken three mornings ago and I would have shared it sooner but cell service has been spotty at best.
If you have read my blog posts for any length of time you probably know that I simply adore Pronghorn fawns, I mean I think they are so cute my face feels like it is melting and I make repetitive ohhh and awww sounds. Over and over. This fawn was probably a couple of days old when I photographed it but I have photographed one so young that its umbilical cord was still dangling and it was probably born not long before I photographed it. It wasn’t even dawn yet so the light was dreadful.
So seeing this Pronghorn doe with her fawn three mornings ago brought joy to me and photographing the fawn while it nursed and ran around getting the feel of its long legs made me happy.
I did see some sad incidents involving Pronghorn fawns this trip though. I saw one tiny fawn get hung up on barbed wire as it tried to follow its mother and sibling, that fawn was rescued though and after getting untangled from the barbed wire it raced away from the road towards its mother. It bothered me so much seeing the fawn like that that my “mothering instincts” kicked in immediately and I never reached for my camera at all, I just rushed towards the fawn. No regrets though.
The other incident didn’t end so happily when a fawn that was laying in the road and looked very much like a rock got hit by a pickup and died. The poor young man driving the pickup had only been going about 20 miles per hour, the light was still low, the coloring of the fawn blended right in with the road and the fawn stood up just as his pickup got to the fawn. It really was unavoidable and I really felt bad for Kyle because I could tell he felt horrible for what had happened. It was a awful way for him to start the day. It was awful just seeing it.
Life isn’t easy for any of us and crap just happens.
I can look at this fawn and its mother though and be happy that I saw them and photographed them wild, free and together. More images of this doe and fawn to come when I don’t have to struggle with cell service to connect to the web and when I can edit on my home computer.
Life is good.
Mia
I may stay up here another day… time and weather will tell.
Beauty and sadness mix together!
Thanks for your heartfelt comments on this post. I am still bothered by the sight of the dead pronghorn fawn.
A heart-warming shot. So sorry for the fawn which didn’t survive, and the person who hit it.
Beautiful photo. Sometimes it amazes me things survive between the harshness of nature and the obstacles of mankind.
Life can be tragic, like the mother that lost track of her 4-year old boy who fell into the gorilla exhibit recently, resulting in the beautiful silverback getting shot and killed. But this image of the mother and fawn is perfect.
You just created the perfect Mothers’ Day card!!! …and shared a very sad story! I feel so sorry for the driver that hit that poor baby!!!
A beautiful and heart touching shot…thanks Mia Jer
Absolutely gorgeous photo, Mia. The Mothering instinct is certainly present here.