Specimen of the Month: Fawn

Here is a story that's been passed down through generations of collections staff: our smallest white-tailed deer fawn was never actually born. Their mother was said to have been hit by a vehicle in town, and the fetal fawn discovered in the mother's womb soon afterwards. 

While none of our records can confirm or deny this, a quick inspection of the fawn's undeveloped features can corroborate at least part of the story. 

A further clue which we can glean from specimen records is that the ensuing taxidermy project was executed by our very own Lois Nestel. As the Museum's original naturalist and director, Lois created many of our taxidermy mounts before the Museum was ever established. She had a knack for taking ordinary pieces of our natural world and preserving them as sources of wonder for future generations. She was also a local. I wouldn't be surprised if Lois had actually been involved in retrieving the fawn from the accident. 

But the rest of the story is a mystery--at least to me--and what is imagined by our visitors is just as intriguing as what we actually know.