Salisbury, MD – The Salisbury Zoo recently welcomed a second white-tailed deer, Rosie.
Rosie, who is about 9 months old, is now on exhibit with the Zoo’s other white-tailed deer, Zoe, and Nigerian dwarf goats Bert and Ernie. Rosie was quarantined for about a month in sight of them so that they could get to know each other, or “howdy,” during this time.
People illegally took Rosie from the wild as a baby, and good Samaritans reported this to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She was too habituated to people to be released back into the wild, so the Department of Natural Resources contacted the Zoo.
While deer are common in the wild on the Eastern Shore, the Salisbury Zoo is only able to add deer to its collection if they are deemed un-releasable and already live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They have to be from the Eastern Shore to avoid bringing chronic wasting disease to this area.
When possible, it is beneficial for deer to have a social group.
“When we found ourselves with a single deer, Zoe, she was very anxious about being by herself,” said Zookeeper Brinkley Rayne. “She was always on alert. This is why we decided to bring in the goats, so she would not be alone. She calmed down a lot.”
The goats were added to the Zoo’s collection in November 2022. Rayne said Rosie is sweet and a bit timid, and the animals are adjusting, but the transition is going well.
