Karen Wils photo A fawn waits for its mama.

ESCANABA — Ducklings are adorable.

What could be cuter than fuzzy bear cubs or baby bunnies?

Fox kits with their pointed ears and noses and baby bandit raccoons following Mama, are so fun to see, but whitetail fawns are the cutest creature by far in the North Woods.

In our area fawns are born typically from Memorial Day weekend through mid-June. Late fawns are sometimes delivered around the 4th of July.

All the many fawns I’ve photographed over the years get more “awws and ohs” than fledglings, pups, kits or cubs.

Their image sells calendars, coffee cups and t-shirts.

Whitetail buck deer and fawns are kind of the symbol of Delta County. Deer hunting is a tradition that pumps much money into central Upper Michigan.

Summer tourists love everything about deer except when they cross the road.

The whitetail migrated into the U.P. hundreds of years ago when the virgin timber was cut. The new growth was favorable for the deer. The eastern elk (an extinct species similar to the western elk of today) disappeared, and the whitetail found a permanent home.

The gift of the deer has been a blessing for the U.P. venison fed us when we were hungry. Deer tracks have lured us into the woods for many healthy hikes.

The cuteness and gentleness of a newborn fawn reminds us that we must take care of our wild areas. With an increase in larger predators in the North Woods, over the last few decades, deer dwell closer to people often within city limits.

It would not be unusual to find a fawn born right near your front doorsteps.

If you see one of these cuties, enjoy the polka dots and the big brown eyes. Don’t get too close. Use the zoom on your cell phone for picture taking and then back away.

The does never truly leave their fawns. They just try to tuck them into safe places while they go out to graze, keeping the youngster as free from her scent as possible so that predators don’t follow.

Mama will bee back at nursing time. In a few days the fawn is up and running and tagging along with mother.

If possible don’t mow the field edge in the next two weeks and be a little quieter on the trails so that the fawn will get off to a good start.

So, what wild baby is the cutest in your opinion? Enjoy the season of new life.

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.