White-tailed deer doe and newborn fawn, Montana

© Donald M. Jones/Minden Picture

Happy Mother's Day!

Is this newborn white-tailed deer wishing its mom a Happy Mother's Day? We hope so—it won't be long before it loses those spots and strikes out on its own. But for the first year or so of its life, it will rely on mom to feed it and keep it safe from predators. We honor mothers and maternal figures everywhere on the second Sunday in May. It was first celebrated in the US in 1908 and was made a national holiday six years later in 1914, thanks to campaign efforts by social activist Anna Jarvis. While Jarvis became known as the founder of Mother's Day in the US, she later complained that it had become too commercial and began to vocally oppose it. You don't need to spend a fortune to let mom know you love her. Like our homepage fawn, you can simply spend some quality time with her today, to show how much you appreciate your nearest and 'deer'-est.