Mama instincts can be strong, regardless of species. That’s why breastfeeders will often have a milk letdown reflex when they hear a baby crying, even if it isn’t their own. It’s why we get stories of cross-species caregiving when a baby animal gets abandoned. And it’s why a video of a mama deer running to a crying human baby’s rescue is so endearing. (Please high-five me for not typing “endeering.”)
Hanna Burton of New Lexington, Ohio, shared the video on TikTok with the caption “When you almost have to throw down with a momma deer because your baby starts crying outside.” The video has been viewed more than 27 million times and liked more than 6 million.
According to Fox 2 KTVU, Burton was hanging out on her deck with her 5-week-old son, Charlie, when the deer encounter occurred. Charlie was lying on fluffy blankets and having some tummy time when he began to get fussy. As Charlie cried and Burton started to console him, a deer came bounding into the yard toward the deck. Burton immediately picked up Charlie, calmly saying, “No, no. This one’s my baby. It’s not yours.”
“Hi, mama!” she added as the deer stopped in her tracks.
“She thinks you’re her baby,” she said to Charlie.
Burton said that the deer lives nearby with her two fawns and visits their yard frequently. And the commentary on Burton’s TikTok share was hilarious:
“She was ready to name that baby Tarzan and raise it on her own.”
“She’s like, ‘Oh you got this? You don’t need my help? I’m just gonna hang out over here then.’”
“The fact that your baby understood the assignment and stopped crying.’
“The deer’s TikTok is ‘when you almost have to throw down with a mama human because you think she stole your baby.’”
“So you’re telling me I can use a baby as a deer call?”
The sound of Charlie’s crying really does resemble the sound of a fawn crying for help, so it’s understandable that the deer would come running to the rescue when she heard it. Such a good mama.
