Bill Harrah
Wolf Run Studio
P.O. Box 444
Clifton VA 20124

Phone:
(703) 250-6711
Fax:
(703) 764-9204

 

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INDEX

WHITE-TAILED DEER
#DFN-500 Notecards Only
Also available in Notecard Assortment Packs #AST-501 & #AST-502

White-tailed deer inhabit forests, adjacent meadows and brushy areas. They are the most abundant hoofed mammals in North America. The species has thrived with the cutting of forests and clearing of land for farming. White-tails prefer to browse on the shoots, leaves, buds and bark of woody plants, but they also enjoy acorns, clover and crops such as apples, corn and soybeans.

The white-tailed deer can readily be identified by the white underside of its foot-long tail. When grazing or resting, the tail hangs down and only a little white shows around the edges. If alarmed, the tail goes up, revealing both the white underside and the white rump patch below. As the deer bounds away from danger, the twitching raised tail signals a warning to any other deer in view.

Females do not have antlers. Antlers of male white-tailed deer are formed and shed every year. New antlers begin growing in spring and are covered with a furry layer of skin called velvet. By fall, the antlers are fully developed and the velvet dries up and peels off. The buck hastens this process by rubbing his antlers against trees and bushes. In winter the antlers fall off, usually one at a time. With each successive growth, the size and elaboration of the antlers increases.

Text © 1995 Dianne Harrah, Drawing © 1995 Bill Harrah.
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WHITE-TAILED FAWN
#FWN-500 Notecards
Also available in Notecard Assortment Packs #AST-503 & #AST-505
#LE-FWN-500 Limited Edition Print

This white-tailed fawn stands perfectly still in the tall grass, camouflaged by its white spots. Its mother licked it frequently as a newborn to eliminate most of the scent that might attract predators. Freed of the scent, the fawn remains safer in the absence of its mother, which returns for feedings only once or twice a day.

When the lonely fawn soon insists on following its mother, the doe responds by patiently teaching it to remain motionless to avoid detection. The mother’s tactics even include gently pressing its hooves against the fawn, forcing it to lie down. At the approach of a predator, the doe creates a diversion by bounding willy-nilly throughout the area.

Within a week or so of birth, the fawn has grown strong enough to travel with its mother, and they become constant companions. The fading of the fawn’s spots about a year later signals that the time has come for mother and child to part company. By then the fawn has grown as tall as its mother. Although the doe and her offspring usually separate right before the next birth, sometimes two sets of offspring live together briefly.

A yearling male - its antlers on the verge of sprouting - probably will never again visit its mother. However, a young female may eventually return, accompanied by her own fawn. A young doe generally produces a single fawn the first time. She may later bear twins or, if food is plentiful, triplets.

Native Americans and white settlers relied so heavily on the white-tailed deer for food and buckskin that the species nearly became extinct. But the deer has made a strong comeback. It can be found in southern Canada and most of the U.S., except for the Southwest.

Text © 1997 Terry White, Drawing © 1997 Bill Harrah.

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