While human beings are considered to be the most sensible of creatures with motherly instincts that raise their children with utmost care, and also possess the feelings of love and motherly care for other little ones.There are some adorable creatures in the animal world who defy the odds of belonging to the kingdom.One such creature is Tripod, a nickname given to a three-legged mother deer who was recently photographed by a photographer outside her window, and what she saw is truly heartwarming.
Photo: Tanya Decatur/ Facebook
Meet Tripod: The three-legged mother deer, who adopted two fawns
Tanya Decatur, a photography hobbyist, was looking out from her front window on a sunny morning when she spotted what looked like a perfect family portrait ‘walking’ in her driveway.A three-legged doe, she calls Tripod, was standing along with three fawns she has recently been caring for. Decatur, who has a knack for photography as a hobby, rushed to grab her camera and managed to capture Tripod and one of the fawns staring directly into the lens.Watch video here
Her capture has gone viral and won hearts online
Since Decatur shared the photo on Facebook last Thursday, it has drawn reactions from hundreds of thousands of people, with tens of thousands sharing it further. Decatur admitted she expected people to enjoy the picture, but not quite at this scale, telling the Washington Post, “I knew people were going to like it. But not to this extent.”In her Facebook post, Decatur described how her neighbours have been keeping an eye on the doe ever since she was injured, calling Tripod a symbol of survival and love. Decatur works as a receptionist at a cleaning company, but wildlife photography has been her quiet escape for roughly ten years, a habit she picked up from her mother.See post here
How did Tripod lose a leg?
Tripod’s story goes back to November 2024, Decatur said to the Washington Post, when a neighbour accidentally shot off the doe’s front right leg during hunting season. A week or two later, Decatur spotted the injured deer moving through nearby woods and fields. Despite her limp, Tripod could apparently still run with surprising speed whenever startled.Decatur believes Tripod has learned to stay close to houses largely to avoid predators like coyotes and bobcats. On certain mornings, she’s even found the doe resting near her backyard pasture, where she also keeps a donkey and a horse.This spring, Tripod had a fawn of her own, and over the past week, she has also taken on the care of two additional fawns. Decatur suspects these two are the offspring of another deer that was struck and killed by a car right outside her home in mid-June.Looking ahead, Decatur hopes to document more candid moments from the small deer family throughout the summer, saying it reassures her to know the fawns are safe whenever she spots them around her property.
