AMERICAN BIG GAME 281 



growth of hair; are very soft and will bleed freely if 

 scratched or otherwise injured. At this time the buck is 

 not combative ; when he must fight he uses his fore feet only, 

 and it is almost amusing to see how carefully he brushes 

 away blood-sucking flies and mosquitoes from his tender 

 antlers. 



Habits and food. The food of this deer varies much 

 with the season. In spring and summer they feed on 

 tender grasses and herbs around lakes and ponds, and also 

 eat cultivated plants in fields and gardens. In the winter 

 time they subsist on the buds and twigs of a great many 

 shrubs and trees. On warm days they feed mostly during 

 the cool hours of morning and evening, while during the 

 remainder of the day they lie concealed in thickets or in 

 the tall grass of swamps. When surprised by man, they 

 rush into a thicket, from which the old bucks occasionally 

 watch their enemy for ten or fifteen minutes, stamping with 

 their feet, and uttering a sound which is half-way between 

 a snort and a whistle. The antlers of the bucks have 

 attained their full growth and have become hard in August 

 or September; the skin on them has dried up, and is 

 brushed off by rubbing the antlers against trees and bushes. 

 In November the rutting season begins, and the bucks move 

 about constantly in search of the does, and fight fierce battles 

 with one another. Sometimes the horns of two stags become 

 locked, and they starve to death, or fall a prey to wolves. 

 Audubon relates a case where the skulls of three deer were 

 found with their antlers firmly locked. 



The natural enemies of deer are wolves, the Canada lynx, 

 the wildcat, and bears. The latter probably seldom catch a 

 healthy deer ; the lynx lies in wait for them on the ground 

 or on trees, and springs upon them in cat-fashion ; and the 

 wildcat kills, no doubt, many a fawn. Wolves frequently 

 hunt a deer in packs. In the summer time the hunted deer 



