The sight of a fawn is often enough to melt the coldest of hearts, and an apparently abandoned baby deer can drive the most fervent omnivore to consider vegetarianism. That appears to be the very problem facing many Bay Area fawns, as CBS 5 reports that wildlife officials are receiving an unusually high number of calls and reports of seemingly abandoned little Bambis. What's more, aspiring do-gooders are snatching up the animals and bringing them in for foster care. There's just one, rather large problem: The fawns are not abandoned, and these "kidnappings" as WildCare Animal Rescue calls them, can have lasting negative impacts on the health of mother and child.

“Most people don’t know that mom leaves them for about 12 hours at a time,” Melanie Piazza, the Director of Wildcare Animal Rescue in Marin County, told CBS. “She’ll leave them in the morning after feeding and come back at night. So most people who find them sitting in the grass think they have been orphaned, when they are actually not.”

Apparently this is actually healthy behavior on the part of mom, with WildCare noting that she essentially hides the fawn during the day.

"Mother deer know that their presence near their babies alerts predators to the fawns’ existence, which puts them at risk," the organization explains on a page titled "Was This Fawn Kidnapped?" "In order to keep her young safe, a doe will leave her fawn in a secluded area, often for as long as 12 hours, distracting predators away from her baby while she forages for food. Fawns’ camouflage and their ability to stay still keep them safe from predators while their mother is away."

According to WildCare, last year upwards of 20 percent of fawns brought in had been mistakenly kidnapped. It's a trend that, unfortunately, doesn't look to be on the decline. "It’s about double what we received last year at this time, which make us wonder why," Marin Humane Society CEO Nancy McKenney told CBS of calls her organization has received regarding seemingly abandoned deer. "But there might be more fawns out there or more concerned people calling us more often, right?"

If you want to know whether or not an animal needs help, WildCare suggests remembering "The Five Cs."

1. Is he Crying?
2. Is he Cold?
3. Is he Coming toward you (approaching people)?
4. Is he Covered with blood or insects?
5. Has he been Caught by a cat or a dog?

If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, it is at that time that you should unleash your inner good Samaritan and call WildCare’s 24-hour Emergency Hotline at 415-456-7283. Otherwise, let that baby deer be.

Related: The SF Zoo's New Baby Giraffe Is Sweet Balm For Your Aching Heart