Veronika Neumannová is an active organizer and volunteer working to save fawns from mowers during the spring and summer hay harvests. In collaboration with IAS, she and her team of volunteers worked this year to locate and drive fawns away before mowing began.
In May of this year, Veronika Neumannová founded a group dedicated to rescuing fawns from mowers after she discovered that no such group was active in her area.
The local group covers the area from Prague toward Běchovice, Koloděje, Uhříněves, Dubeč, and further east toward the Říčany region. Veronika has connected farmers and hunters, with whom she has established a successful collaboration.
How does such an operation work?
Sometimes there is one or two locations per day. The area is mapped using a drone equipped with thermal imaging. The thermal imaging detects warmer spots on the ground; the drone then approaches the area showing the most heat to determine whether it is a living creature, heated leaves, or resting spots left by wildlife, known as “zálehy.”
If a fawn or a young hare is detected, the drone guides the conservationist to the location. Now is the time when the fawns are already grown, agile, and therefore run as far away from the mowing area as possible. In May, when the fawns are still small, they are captured in the grass. The rangers wear gloves and take care not to have any strong odors on their bodies. The fawn is then placed in the shade. Tried-and-true soft dog carriers are used for the fawns.
People often ask, “What about the fawn’s mother?” The mother is always nearby and safely leads her fawn away.
The number of volunteers involved in searching for fawns depends on the difficulty of the location and can range from two to ten people. Sometimes it is necessary to monitor the area, because several hours may pass between checking the site and mowing, and there is a risk that the doe and her fawns will return to the site.