They didn’t hesitate.
Published on Aug 14, 2026 at 3:43 PM
This past July, a family camping near the Ohio River stopped short when they noticed a little animal swimming in the current.
The concerned campers spoke with people at a neighboring campsite, who told them the animal — a fawn — had been struggling for almost an hour, unable to reach the shore. The deer’s mother was nowhere to be found, and without intervention, the baby was in big trouble.
The campers knew what they had to do. One of them jumped in the water and carefully guided the fawn to land, where another was waiting to gently pull her from the river.
In need of expert help, the family contacted Cordy’s Castle Wildlife Rescue and arranged for the deer to be transported into their care.
Safe with a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, the fawn could finally relax. She received plenty of food and water, along with medical care. Within days, rescuers noticed her energy returning.
“Her weight and general health have picked up, fleas and ticks are gone, and her eyes are starting to clear,” a representative from the rescue told The Dodo. “She’s started eating leafy greens and gets a bottle twice a day. She’s learning her enclosure and the boundaries and becoming less stressed.”
As her health improved, the fawn’s personality began revealing itself.
“She’s very gentle and, for the most part, very calm, but very vocal when she knows that it’s time for her bottle,” the representative said.
Though this fawn clearly needed help, not all lonesome fawns necessarily require rescuing. According to rescue team members, most fawns spotted alone in the wild are just waiting for their mothers to return and shouldn’t be bothered.
“Every now and then a special case comes along where they need help, and it’s obvious,” the representative said. “My advice is to always call a licensed rehab before you take a healthy-looking baby animal.”
Luckily for this fawn, she found the care she needed, and she’s on her way to brighter days ahead.
To help other animals like this fawn, you can donate to Cordy’s Castle Wildlife Rescue.
Community Refuses To Give Up On Fawn Lugging Around A PVC Pip
It was stuck around his neck
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Man Notices A Wild Roadrunner Visiting His Yard — And Makes A New Friend
“It’s been amazing to have him visit” 🥹
By Ashley Ortiz
For the past 20 years, Patrick Pearce has made an effort to befriend the wild animals who inhabit his San Diego community. From hanging sugar water feeders that nourish the passing hummingbirds and hooded orioles to serving mealworm snacks to lizards, Pearce’s yard has become a haven for all kinds of critters — including a daily visitor with a prehistoric look named Ravi.
Ravi is a roadrunner and far from the first to stop by Pearce’s house since moving in decades ago, preceded by one named Scootie and a handful of others. But something about him sets him apart from the rest.
The first time Pearce ever spotted a roadrunner in his yard, he decided to use the same approach that won him over with the lizards: throwing mealworms in their direction without disturbing them. He could tell that the bird was hesitant, but he felt the visitor might appreciate the treat.
“I would have to toss the snack very far, [which was] hard to do, since the wild bird would be very wary,” Pearce told The Dodo. “But not surprisingly, the first and subsequent roadrunners did warm up to the snacks.”
Pearce eventually befriended the roadrunner and a few others in the years that followed. As ground-dwelling birds, roadrunners don’t typically visit people’s homes unless they feel particularly safe. So when Pearce saw a new roadrunner last year, he did everything he could to make the feathered stranger comfortable.
“The first day, we looked at each other through the fence about ten feet away for a minute,” Pearce said. “I did toss a mealworm his way to no avail.”
The roadrunner, whom Pearce named Ravi, wasn’t interested in the snack during that first encounter. But the curious bird returned around the same time the following day, and the next day and the day after that.
“After a few weeks, it became clear that he was going to be a regular visitor,” Pearce said. “The visits would start with tossing snacks his way until he seemed to have had enough. Then, he would often go over to one of the water bowls we put out for the birds for a drink. He usually then ‘explores’ the backyard …”
You can watch Ravi explore Pearce’s yard here:
It’s been over a year of near-daily visits from Ravi, and Pearce is almost always looking out for him. On the off chance the homeowner isn’t outside when Ravi arrives, the loyal bird goes looking for him.
“If one of us is not outside when he shows up, he will sometimes fly up on a patio chair back or onto the patio table and look into the patio door windows as if to say, ‘Hey, where are you? I’m here!’” Pearce said. “It is so fun. He knows where we come from.”
Like all the wild animals who stop by his yard, Ravi sometimes disappears for weeks — a period that the homeowner lovingly calls “Ravi’s holiday.” Pearce worries about Ravi whenever he’s gone, but it always makes the reunion that much sweeter.
“It makes my day when he shows up on a regular schedule,” Pearce said. “It’s a party when he comes back from being on holiday!”
But Pearce isn’t the only one who celebrates when Ravi arrives — the unsuspecting bird has thousands of followers online who keep up with Pearce’s accounts just to see him.
One of his followers, a BlueSky user named Solaris-Meadow, recently made an astute observation about the bird that can’t be unseen.
“This made me realize how raptor-shaped roadrunners are,” Solaris-Meadow wrote in a BlueSky post. “Really neat.”
For some, having a small, dinosaur-like critter stop by every day might seem intimidating. But Pearce said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been amazing to have him visit, like a good friend,” Pearce said.
To keep up with Ravi’s visits, you can follow Patrick Pearce on BlueSky
Grieving Woman Gets A Sign When Someone With Familiar ‘Eyebrows’ Pays A Visit
She’d recognize those brows anywhere 🥹
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