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 hfe. 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 



