I go jogging early in the morning. One day I heard a loud noise and a deer came crashing through the trees. I startled him as much as he startled me. You don't really realize just how big a white tail deer is when you see them in pictures. I think this is because they are always standing in a HUGE field or next to a GIGANTIC tree.
Now I WATCH for deer and I always carry my camera, just in case.
The first deer pictures were actually caveman drawings. They were drawn around 15,000 BC and found in the Cave of Lascaux in France.
Around 1 AD the Gallic god "Cernunnos" was pictured wearing deer antlers.
Diane the Hunter of Greek mythology turned the hunter Acteon into a deer when he accidentally interrupted her bath.
In 683 AD a large white deer with the sign of the cross converted St. Hubert, who is now the patron saint of hunters.
Then there's Rudolph, you know, the red nose reindeer......
And of course, there's Bambi. Nuf said about that.
- White deer are sacred to the Chickasaw.
- White deerskin is normally used for wedding dresses.
- Deer were not just a foodsource. They were also used for clothing, moccassins, bags and drums.
- The Omaha Indians called the September moon the "Moon when the deer paw the earth".
- The Sioux called the December moon the "Moon when deer shed their horns".
- The deer is the animal sign for those born between May 21 and June 20.
- Never feed a deer "people food". Though they love potato chips their stomachs can't process them.
- Deer are ruminants, meaning they are equipped with a four chambered stomach. Really though, does anyone care?
- Here in Kansas agricultural corn accounts for 29% of the white tail deer's diet. I think this is why so many farmers love "deer season".
- Deer also eat plum, sumac, chokeberry, wild rose, pine and walnut. My sister says they just love her hibiscus. This is NOT a good thing. See my hunting link below.
The best deer habitat is along stream courses and their associated breaks. In a "perfect world" a deer may live its entire life and die within one or a few square miles. Deer living along rivers and streams tend to cover more area.
Deer move most often and for the greatest distances in the spring and fall. In late spring, does may travel in search of fawning sites. Greater travels are made by yearlings, on their own for the first time. Deer "relocation" does not work. They do not seem to survive well after a move.
Fawns are normally born in the spring and stand within a few hours. They learn from watching their mothers and other fawns. The spots they are born with are natural camouflage. They begin to eat vegetation at around 3 weeks and are weaned by around the 12th week, though they stay with their mothers long after that. If you come upon a fawn alone in the wild, it's mother is close by. It's best chance for survival is in the wild - leave it alone.
Did Bambi's Mom have a name?
Does travel in small groups. They stay within a familiar area for most of their lives, unless harsh weather conditions force them to relocate. During fawning, does tend to pick an area close to water and thick cover. Does have between 1 and 4 fawns.
A male deer is called a buck. At around 16 months old a young buck will leave its mother in search of a male group. Dominance is very important. If challenged, a larger buck will go into a "stare down" or will duel.
A buck's antlers are shed each year in the winter and grow a new pair the next spring.
Early American settlers paid a dollar for a high quality buckskin, coining the slang term "buck".
