WESTCOAST NEWS
Fawn born of dying doe recovering
Students help twin that survived mother's road crash outside Prince George

Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun

June 1, 2005

PRINCE GEORGE - Angelika Langen has been rescuing sick and injured wildlife for 15 years -- from bears to wolves to cougars -- but she's never heard a story like this one.

On Sunday evening on a highway outside Prince George, a car hit and killed a pregnant doe --not an unusual circumstance in the north, Langen says.

What was extraordinary is that as the doe lay dying, she gave birth to twins, one of which is now in Langen's care.

"One of the twins died," Langen said in a telephone interview Tuesday from her Northern Lights Wildlife Society outside Smithers. "I don't know if it was born dead. I suppose the impact [of the car] killed it as well."

But the other one, a female, survived, suffering only a broken leg, also a result of being struck by the car. She arrived "very hungry" at Langen's shelter at 2 a.m. Tuesday.

"I've been doing this a long time," Langen said, "but it's about the craziest story I've ever heard. I was just stunned last night."

Initially, the fawn -- which stands about 30 wobbly centimetres at her spotted shoulder -- was taken by a conservation officer to a shelter for small wildlife in Prince George. Then, thanks to the kindness of a trucking company on which Langen relies for help, she was transported 400 kilometres to Langen's 80-hectare refuge outside Smithers -- her home for the next four months until she's ready to be released back into the wild.

"Her leg is broken," Langen said. "The front left leg is broken above the knee. We put a splint on it and stabilized it, and took her into town to the vet to get an X-ray and hopefully a cast."

The problem for Langen is that until last week, she got free veterinary care in exchange for charitable receipts issued by the society. But the vet who provided that free service sold the practice to a doctor who now wants cash. And given that her vet bills run as high as $5,000 a year, that's going to put a real strain on the society.

"We're going to face bills we've never had to face before," Langen said. "We're either going to have to do extra fundraising or put critically injured animals like this fawn down."

But not yet. A group of Prince Rupert schoolchildren visiting Langen's riding school this week raised the money to pay for the fawn's X-ray. As a reward, Langen says they will have the right to name the animal.

Langen is used to looking after wildlife. She's rehabilitated hundreds of animals, including three moose calves that had to wear casts too. So she knows that this fawn should recover from her broken leg.

All it takes is time, food and some TLC, she says.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005