40 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
tective in character, resembling as it does spots of light 
falling on a dark object. This form of protective coloura- 
tion is characteristic of the young of many species of deer 
during their comparatively helpless state. When they are 
several weeks old the fawns begin to follow their mothers. 
During the greater part of the day they rest, and they 
emerge from their wooded retreats at sunset and in the early 
hours of the morning to feed and drink. These foraging 
expeditions are never conducted in black darkness, but 
on moonlight nights they take advantage of the light. 
Towards October the fawns are weaned, and they quickly 
lose their speckled coats and assume the grayish winter 
coats. 
While the does devote themselves during the spring and 
summer months to their maternal duties, the bucks wander 
off, frequently in pairs, and lead a bachelor life. They 
usually lose their antlers in January, and very vigorous 
animals may lose them a little earlier. The new antlers 
begin to appear a few weeks after the old ones are dropped, 
and they complete their growth about August. The velvet 
with which the new antlers are clothed soon begins to fall 
off, and its loss is hastened by persistent scraping. By the 
end of September the buck is in possession of a clean pair of 
antlers, and is prepared for the masculine contests that are 
to take place during the next few months. The advent of 
the fall brings a richer food supply in the shape of nuts, 
acorns, etc., on which the deer feed and grow fat. In Octo- 
ber the bucks, whose necks have begun to swell, commence 
to seek the does, to whose presence they have been indiffer- 
ent earlier in the season. By November the rutting season 
is at its height. The bucks not only fight among them- 
selves but will sometimes attack man at this time, and they 
have not infrequently proved to be dangerous adversaries. 
All keepers of park deer should be particularly cautious 
during the rutting season. The rutting season may last 
