1236 



RiKAi. Sciiooi, Lrafket 



rate and as a result starve. The growth of an antler is very rapid. 

 Starting as a mere buttonlike growth in the middle of May, it attains 

 its full size by Septeml)cr. It is covered with velvet, which carries a 

 blood suijply until the Inick is full grown, when he rubs the velvet oil 

 by scraping his horns on bushes and rock ledges. 



Virginia deer do not migrate, and the incUviduals have a very small 

 home range. Ordinarily they have a low, smooth, bounding gait, with 

 an occasional high jump. Their footprints arc aiTanged alternately in 

 a double row. The hind foot falls exactly in the mark of the fore foot, 

 which makes an impression al:)OUt five and one-half inches in length. The 

 two parts of the hoof are very sharply defined and are often unequal in 



size. Deer are good 

 swimmers. 



These animals do 

 not make a nest. The 

 young are bom in 

 the middle of May, 

 usually two fawns at 

 a time. The mother 

 hides them in some 

 sheltering underbrush, 

 whither she comes to 

 nm"se them. The coat 

 of the young is a rich 

 bay, with clear white 

 spots, which coloring 

 is lost after about four 

 months. These little 

 animals are exceed-' 

 ingly graceful. The 

 males follow the 

 years. They have many 



Virginia deer 



mother for one year, the females for two 



enemies, including bears, wolves, panthers, lynxes, foxes, and eagles. 



In summer, deer follow the watercourses, and they feed on herbs, 

 grasses, marsh or aquatic plants, leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs, 

 berries and fruits whenever within reach, and as many beechnuts as can 

 be found. As winter approaches they gather in bands, and when the 

 weather grows severe they congregate in a " yard," which is a cleared, 

 stamped-out space with a wall of snow about it. Here their food con- 

 sists of buds, low deciduous trees, twigs and foUage of arbor viise, hemlock, 

 and balsam, and a few mosses and lichens. 



Deer can be readily semidomesticated for park purposes, but they 

 are treacherous and dangerou.s as pets. 



