Cuteness overload! Merced Applegate Park Zoo has twin fawns

The Applegate Park Zoo recently had babies born in one of its enclosures for the first time in 20 years, if not ever, according to staffers.

The zoo took in a mule deer, which they named Lilly, from a neighborhood in Copperopolis, according to Donna McDowell, the head keeper. The deer was too friendly to people for its own good.

“Obviously somebody had made her a pet,” McDowell said on Wednesday. “She was going into people’s garages and yards. Apparently if you left your door open she’d try to get into your car with you.”

Because she was hanging out in a neighborhood, she was bitten by a dog, McDowell said. She came to the zoo to recover and live out her life.

State Fish and Wildlife officials noted Lilly was fat, McDowell said, but they weren’t sure if she’d had too much food from humans or if she was pregnant. After she got to Applegate Zoo on Memorial Day, the keepers were sure she was pregnant.

On June 15, Lilly gave birth to bouncing baby twin girls. McDowell said she named them Claire and Nicole after the twin daughters of the zoo’s longtime veterinarian Christine McFadden, who has cared for the animals since 1982.

Though it’s called Applegate Park Zoo, McDowell said, the facility operates more like a rescue. “It’s rare for us to have babies because we don’t breed animals,” she said.

McDowell said the fawns are the first animals born in the zoo since she’s been on staff, which is about 20 years.

In that time, the zoo has transformed, according to Jennifer Meissonnier, a recreation supervisor with the city of Merced.

“I always tell people, if you haven’t been to the zoo since you were a kid, give it another try,” she said.

To celebrate the arrival of the babies, organizers plan an event they’re calling “Meet the Twins” from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the zoo, 1045 W. 25th St. Food and games are planned. Staffers recommend children wear swimsuits, but shoes and a shirt are required.