Monday, June 6, 2011

black-tailed deer ~ 06/06/11 ~ at home



Columbian black-tailed deer
Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

posted 06/23/11 - There are twins fawns again this year. I can't believe I haven't seen them before now. I really like the first picture of the spotted fawn against the dappled oak leaves. Poor mom couldn't get any privacy.

ps 06/28/11 - In response to the comments about fawns with lumps, here's an informative website Jennifer recommended: www.fawnrescue.org.

5 comments:

Cindy said...

Very nice family photos. The only fawn I have seen in my yard so far has a swollen lump below its chin. The other does don't seem to have any fawns. What the heck were the bucks up to last fall?

Susan Ellis said...

Beautiful! We have white tailed deer here, but ususally just catch their white "flag" as they run into the woods.

Jennifer said...

Fawns with lumps are common. They are abscesses which typically resolve themselves. There is at least one fawn I know of right now that has one on its neck.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Cindy and Jennifer, I wonder why fawns get abscesses in the first place. Yesterday, I saw 2 adult females in this same spot without fawns.

Susan, it's probably a good thing your deer aren't so accustomed to people. Folks here build huge fences to keep the deer out of their gardens. I don't mind since I don't have a garden.

Jennifer said...

They get abscesses because they get small wounds or cuts, probably from going through brush or something. But then it gets infected and builds up all this fluid. Eventually the skin get's stretched out so much that the abscess bursts and drains. At that point everything heals up fine.

Speaking of fences, people in deer territory need to be careful about what kind of fences they have. Someone who rents a house on my block has a fence with these gaps in it that fawns have gotten stuck in and died and injured themselves in. It is horribly sad, and preventable.