22 MAMMALS OF UTAH 



Each doe soon seeks a lonely retreat, where in late May, 

 one, two or rarely three fawns are born. These she hides 

 in a thicket, suckling them night and morning. Twice a day 

 she seeks a pool to drink and at various hours eats grass, 

 twigs, in fact anything of a vegetable origin. Should dan- 

 ger threaten the little ones, a cry from her causes them to 

 drop as flat as a quail; and even when six or eight weeks 

 old, after they have begun to follow her, they hide them- 

 selves so cleverly that close search is required to find them. 

 Should a hawk appear the mother evinces solicitude by rais- 

 ing the hair of her neck and watching the ominous move- 

 ments of the intruder ; a coyote is dealt with in a more sum- 

 mary manner and usually chased ingloriously out of bounds. 

 The buck probably takes no interest in the fawns. 



In November the ardor of the rutting season causes 

 many a push fight; but soon thereafter, when snow flies, 

 bands of all sexes gather amicably together under the 

 leadership of a grandmother doe. Food then consists of 

 anything green, whether procured by pawing the snow or 

 by standing on the hind legs. 



Deep snow is, next to guns, the mule deer's direst 

 enemy. Food is hopelessly buried and rapid travel is pre- 

 vented. Then it is that the mountain lion licks his lips with 

 feline glee, for he has but to strike to win. To his dis- 

 credit, however, he is not content with the one deer a week 

 that his stomach could accommodate, but must kill four or 

 five victims a day until all the band is prostrate on the 

 snow. Then he lingers no longer, but seeks other fields. 



Wolves, lynxes, coyotes, and eagles probably molest 

 only the fawns. Bluejays, however, hover about the mule 

 deer, at once companions and watchmen. 



A mule deer can swim if compelled, but it dislikes the 

 water. Old and young are frequently seen gambolling to- 

 gether like lambs, the only amusement they are known to 

 indulge in. 



