Buck has soft spot to land

by Kym Backland

Title

Buck has soft spot to land

Artist

Kym Backland

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

This young buck has a soft place to land after all his activities today. He's mated, he's fought, eaten apples, and now He goes to sleep on the nice grassy knoll....known as my yard. I hope he knows when to run. Sweet little feller. This deer looks different than the other deer that come around. I can't get a look at his tail so I'm not sure what kind of a deer, buck that he is. I know they are usually Black Tailed Deer around here. But, I think this is a new feller. Maybe he is a hybrid or something? Anyways, I'll have to read up on my deer details. Here's some of that info you might want to know about.
Deer are among the most familiar animals of Washington, and in many places they are the largest wildlife that people encounter. Their aesthetic beauty is appreciated and admired, although their fondness for garden and landscape plants tries some peoples’ patience.
Two species and four subspecies of deer occur in the state
Rocky Mountain mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus,), or mule deer, inhabit areas east of the Cascades in Washington, preferring open forests and sagebrush meadows.During summer, mule deer are tan to light brown; during winter, they are a salt-and-pepper gray. They have large, dark-edged ears, from whence they derive their name. The 7 to 8 inch tail of a mule deer is white, except for a black tip. Mule deer are the largest deer in Washington. Adult buck (males) weigh up to 250 pounds; adult doe (females) weigh 120 to 170 pounds.
Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) are our most common deer subspecies. They occur from the crest of the Cascades west to the ocean, preferring brushy, logged lands and coniferous forests. Many of the physical characteristics of black-tailed deer are similar to those of the larger mule deer. The tail is broader and the backside of the tail is covered with dark brown hair that grades to black near the tip. When alarmed or fleeing from danger, the tail may be raised, displaying the broad, white underside. Adult black-tailed deer bucks weigh 140 to 200 pounds and
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus idahoensis, Fig. 2) occur in eastern Washington on farmlands, in low-elevation stream and river corridors, and near populated areas.White-tailed deer are usually reddish tan in summer and brownish gray in winter. They derive their name from their broad, 10 to 11 inch long tail. When alarmed, white-tailed deer raise their flaglike tail, displaying the white underside. White-tailed bucks weigh 150 to 200 pounds and adult does tip the scales at 110 to 140 pounds. Food and Feeding Habits
•Deer eat a wide variety of plants, but their main food item is browse—the growing tips of trees and shrubs. In late winter and early spring, deer eat grass, clover, and other herbaceous plants (Table 2).
•Deer also eat fruit, nuts, acorns, fungi, lichens, and farm and garden crops if available.
•For their first few weeks of life, fawns thrive on milk, which is more than twice as rich in total solids as the best cow milk.
•Deer eat rapidly and, being ruminants, initially chew their food only enough to swallow it. This food is stored in a stomach called the “rumen.” From there it is regurgitated, then re-chewed before being swallowed again, entering a second stomach where digestion begins. From there it is passed into a third and then a fourth stomach, finally entering the intestine.
Shelter and Range Needs
•Deer are sometimes referred to as “edge” species, meaning they thrive at the interface of openings and cover patches. This allows deer to feed in productive openings while being close to escape cover.
•Many wooded suburban environments, such as parks, greenbelts, golf courses, and roadsides, meet the needs of deer.
•Mule deer can move long distances during spring and fall migrations to avoid mountain snow. Mule deer summering in the Cascades migrate as far as 80 miles to reach adequate winter range.
•Black-tailed and white-tailed deer normally reside within a ½ to 3 square-mile area; in mountainous locations, they move to lower elevations for the winter.
hybrids are not common, but are occasionally seen where both species occur in close proximity.

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October 24th, 2014

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