She was a little late to come in an Easter basket, but a reindeer fawn was born the day after the springtime holiday at the Brookfield Zoo.
Bunny gave birth to the female fawn just after noon Monday, nearly a year to the day after giving birth to her first baby, a male, the west suburban zoo announced Wednesday afternoon. Within two hours of her birth, the fawn was up and walking around her habitat.
The fawn, who has not been named, weighed just over 12 pounds at birth, according to the zoo. However, she is expected to almost double her weight in the next two weeks due to her mother’s milk. She will also start grazing on solid foods in the next few weeks.
The fawn is a different color than her mother because the babies are born with dark fur that absorbs radiant heat from the sun and acts as camouflage. In a few months, she will begin to shed as her lighter-colored fur grows in.
“Also, little antler buds begin developing at about a month old followed by short spikes within the first year,” according to the zoo.
The fawn was likely not bothered by Wednesday morning’s snowfall — reindeer are found in arctic tundra in northern regions like Canada, Alaska and Russia.
Zoo guests can already see Bunny and her fawn bonding in their outdoor habitat at the Hamill Family Wild Encounters.
A female reindeer fawn born at Brookfield Zoo on April 2. | Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society