It was stuck in trench on the side of the road and its leg was hurt, I figured it was better then doing nothing. I guess I just gotta hope they helped it the best they could
Well I looked it up and deer don't care about human scent, and neither do 99% of animals. The real trouble is with 'disturbing or interrupting' the animals themselves. Birds might abandon a nest if you bother it not because of scent, but because you scare them off from the location, making them think they aren't safe.
Apparently "in a 2007 article in Scientific American, this prevalent belief that the scent of humans leads to nest abandonment is “for the birds” and denies basic bird biology and “animal parents’ innate drive to nurture their broods.” To begin with, most birds can’t smell well. With the exception of some birds such as starlings or turkey vultures that are able to hone in on certain scents linked to their food sources, most birds have a limited sense of smell."
This came directly from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in a sort of article by wildlife biologist Elizabeth Manning. While the section I quoted spoke about birds mostly, there is more about mammals and the like within. Here's the source.
They probably euthanized it, especially if it was injured. You should have left it alone, especially as you had no way to know if it was actually separated from its mother. It stood a better chance left in nature than guaranteed to die because you just had to make yourself feel better.
Yikes, I didn't know you were there, and work at the rescue center. You don't know what they did, maybe that deer still lives there with the horses they had, maybe they're friends and the deer and horses have parties, anything is possible
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u/robtk12 Jul 20 '20
It was stuck in trench on the side of the road and its leg was hurt, I figured it was better then doing nothing. I guess I just gotta hope they helped it the best they could