Floods and a doe's fawn

At the end of May, I organised a trip to Kopački rit, on the border between Croatia and Serbia, where the Drava River flows into the Danube. The large wetland had been heavily flooded, but by the time we arrived, the water level had already dropped enough for the park authorities to assure us that boating was safe. However, when we arrived, the water level was still very high, and vast areas of water covered parts of meadows and forests that are rarely flooded. We set off in boats to explore the flooded area between the confluence of the two large rivers, and experts from the park told us about the largest wetland in Croatia and described the situation during the floods. After a while, we heard the desperate calls of a doe and her calf, so the park's conservationists directed their boats towards the sound. We witnessed a shocking scene: a doe was standing on the bank, calling for her calf, who had fallen into the water and, fortunately, had become caught in the flooded bushes but was unable to escape. The men from the park jumped out of their boats, rescued the young fawn from the tangled branches, and brought it to one of our boats, although we had expected them to return it to its mother. The fawn was shaking with fear and was clearly in shock from the ordeal. The doe was confused and followed our boats for a while, but had to give up when she reached the water's edge and could go no further. We asked why the fawn had not been returned to its mother and were told that it would first be taken to the vet and given proper care if necessary, as it could have been injured while trying to find its way through the tangled branches. Once they were sure that it was unharmed, they would return it to the place where they found it, as its mother would definitely be waiting for it there.