N.C. woman gives home to critters, just for a while

FRISCO, N.C.

Teetering on long, spindly legs, the fawn eagerly sucked at the baby bottle. Becky Marlin, using a log as a bench, allowed the weeks-old white tail deer a few good swallows, then pulled the food away. The little animal, not much bigger than a garden ornament, bounded off, its tail and ears flicking.

Marlin has been caring for the unnamed deer since it arrived at her state-permitted fawn rehabilitation facility on Hatteras Island around Memorial Day. She feeds it special formula up to five times a day, and provides it leaves from honeysuckles, grapevines, dogwoods and blackberries. When the fawn gets older, Marlin will add acorns - thawed from her winter collection in the freezer - and palmetto berries.

"She's a huge commitment," Marlin said as the fawn, like a curious child, surveyed her knee with a few sniffs. "Everything comes out of pocket. It's not only the formula. It's the medications, the laundry, an incredible amount of time."

A retail shop owner, Marlin is the only fawn rehabilitator with a permit from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in the region besides one in Greenville and two in Gates County. There are 31 active fawn rehabilitators in the state's 100 counties.

Marlin's current charge was "kidnapped," she said, by a well-meaning person who picked up the fawn from the side of the road, thinking it was orphaned. Tan with white spots on its back, and stripes on each side of its neck, the fawn has Disney-worthy deep blue eyes, ringed by crystal blue.

Another fawn that was brought to Marlin from Duck the day before the baby arrived had to be euthanized because its jaw was broken by a dog or coyote bite. Soon, Marlin said, she expects another fawn will arrive from somewhere else.

Does tend to leave their fawns, each in a different place - they can have three at a time - while they look for food. Unless the mothers are killed, they always come back. Marlin said the young should not be disturbed unless they are crying or clearly injured.

Since the arrival of the fawn, a number of adult deer have been spotted outside the fawn's big fenced-in and tree-shaded enclosure, which includes an open shed for shelter.

"It's funny," Marlin said. "I think they're coming to check out the new girl in town."

The fawn is expected to stay until the fall. When the animal is ready to be released, the gate will be left open during daylight for a while to allow the fawn to acclimate to its wild surroundings. In the meantime, Marlin said, the fawn will have few human visitors.

"You just don't want to get her acclimated to people."

Already a permitted small-mammal rehabilitator, Marlin, 52, volunteered for the additional responsibility because she knew there was a need for someone to help abandoned, orphaned or injured fawns.

Her home quickly shows her devotion to animals. On a recent afternoon, her two huge black Newfoundland dogs, Ava and Lucy, lumbered up to her as she opened the gate to her yard. Goats named Pearl and Coco, waiting for her on the steps to her house, greeted her with friendly "neighs" and followed on her heels as she walked to the wire pens where two baby possums were being rehabilitated. Marlin has nursed back to health many rabbits and squirrels before releasing them.

Wildlife rehabilitator Lou Browning, who also lives in Frisco, works closely with Marlin. But Browning said he has state and federal permits to help birds and reptiles - a wholly different specialty.

He averages 200 to 300 animals a year, he said, costing him $10,000 to $20,000.

Browning said all wild animals are vulnerable to stress when they're around noise or human activities. The best thing a person can do around a wild animal is to be quiet and still - and call a wildlife rehabilitator.

"We're a nice complement between mammals and birds," he said about Marlin. "It's been wonderful."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com