NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – I always love seeing the deer when I go into the forests throughout this region.
The deer seen most often in this part of California the black-tail subspecies of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), most recognizable by their large independently-moving ears and black tails.
Recently, I came across a doe and her three youngsters on a walk, and took photos and video of them as mama washed the youngsters’ faces with her tongue.
The big males are strutting this time of year, too, following after females and challenging one another for dominance over their wintering grounds.
Mule deer breed between October and February, so we’re right in the middle of their season now.
Twin births are normal for black-tail mule deer, and triplets are not uncommon.
Does are generally excellent mothers, and will protect their fawns if they have to.
Deer would rather flee than fight, but when running isn’t an option, a mother deer will advance on intruders, rear up, and pound them with their front hooves to protect her offspring.
Once you spot the deer on your walk, it’s best take photos without intruding on the deer’s space if you can.
A simple 50x telephoto lens will actually let you get some really decent shots while also keeping you at a distance that is comfortable for the deer.
Taking video is always fun, too, especially when you’re filming yearlings and their mamas.
Fawns arrive after gestating for six or seven months. When the 6- to 8-pound fawns are born – and for the first week to 10 days of life – they have no scent, and that protects them from predators when the doe has to step away to find food.
By the way, don’t assume that a fawn sitting by itself in the forest has been “abandoned.” Unless it’s severely sick or injured, leave it where it is and don’t touch it. Its mother is no doubt just off for a few minutes foraging for food.
Those young deer who survive their first year can grow up to be about 150 to 280 pounds (depending on their gender), and can live up to about 10 years in the wild (although they can live much longer in captivity).
Does have to take in a lot of nutrients to feed themselves and produce milk for their young, and they do this by foraging for herbaceous plants and weeds, leaves, lichen, rose hips and berries such as blackberries.
They’ll even eat poison oak and California Buckeye leaves, and seem to have a sort of natural immunity to the toxins in them.
Grass is low in nutritional content, so they tend to ignore that unless there is no other food source readily available.
To communicate with her youngsters and other deer, the doe may use visual displays, scents and vocalizations.
Glands in different parts of the legs actually produce different kinds of scents.
Glands on the inside of the legs, for example, secrete a scent that helps the deer recognize one another as individuals, whereas other glands on the outside of the legs produce a heavier “alarm” or warning scent.
To show predators how strong and healthy they are, the deer will often flee while “stotting,” bounding through the forest with all four hooves bouncing off the ground at the same time.
Be careful when driving around dawn or dusk when deer are most active. That “deer in the headlights” reaction to the lights on your car is caused less by fear than by the fact that the deer’s pupils dilate in low-light so their vision is optimized.
When the light from your headlights glares into their eyes, they stand still because they’re temporarily blinded and are waiting for their eyes to adjust.
As David C. Yancy, a deer biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources noted, “They don’t know what to do, so they do nothing.”
We humans, however, do know what do: when driving in areas where you know deer are prevalent, slow down (especially around corners) and keep an eye out for them.
Both you and the deer will be happier for it.
Tuleyome Tales is a monthly publication of Tuleyome, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, Calif. For more information about Tuleyome go to www.tuleyome.org . Mary K. Hanson is an amateur naturalist and photographer and author of The Chubby Woman’s Walkabout blog.