Welcome, Plum!

We’ve welcomed a sweet female white-tailed deer fawn to our Wild Florida area!

Three-month-old deer Plum now calls the area home and lives in a section of the loop across from our Florida black bear habitat. Our 3-year-old white-tailed deer Persimmon and our flock of Osceola turkeys have also moved to this area with Plum! You’ll soon get a chance to feed our deer again – feeding stations will be placed around their habitat if you’d like to offer them a snack.

Our Zoo aims to be a home for white-tailed deer who can’t be released back to their natural habitat. Although it’s easy to mistake Plum for Persimmon’s own fawn, Plum was less than a month old when she was found injured and separated from her mother, who was never found. Plum went to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility.

While the facility’s team nursed Plum back to health with the hope of releasing her to her natural range, Plum has an abnormal gait that prevents her from walking and running normally. This is due to a deformity of her femur, which could have been caused by a previous injury or a birth defect, according to Dr. Trevor Zachariah, the Zoo’s director of veterinary programs.

Before bringing her to our Zoo, our animal registrar, Sebastian Carcano, visited Plum to learn more about her temperament and inspect the rehabilitation facility. Plum was very friendly and calm – a perfect fit for our Zoo!

“This is not ideal for re-release, but perfect for us – she would be calm with animal care staff and around guests,” Sebastian said.

Stop by Wild Florida to meet Plum and get an up-close experience with her, Persimmon and our turkeys!

Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.