MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



173 



usually full size being achieved within 4 months or less. During the 

 period of antler growth, the buck is very careful of the sensitive 

 appendages, but after full size is reached, the velvet is scraped away, 

 and the polished antlers are used by the bucks in battles for mates. 

 The necks of the bucks also swell considerably during the mating sea- 

 son. After the mating season the antlers are shed, usually in January 

 or early February in Northern States, then the cycle continues. 



Gestation period in this species varies from 189 and 222 days, with 

 the average being about 201 days. The usual number of young, for 

 older does, is two, occasionally three. A young doe, however, usually 

 gives birth to only a single offspring. The fawns are spotted, and re- 

 main in thickets where they blend perfectly with the dappled shadows 

 of the foliage. Both bucks and does generally achieve sexual maturity 

 at 18 months of age, although well-nourished doe fawns, at least in 

 northern areas, may breed at 6 to 8 months of age. 



Specimens examined. — Allegany County: Cumberland, 3. 



Other records and reports. — White-tailed deer have been reported 

 from every county in Maryland. 



Remarks. — The subspecies of white-tailed deer that originally in- 

 habited Maryland was Odocoileus v. horealis. By the turn of the 

 present century, however, the species was nearly extinct in Maryland, 

 as well as in most other eastern States. Widespread transplanting of 

 deer from areas in which they were still abundant reestablished east- 

 ern herds. Deer from many areas, and representing a number of sub- 

 species, were brought into Maryland, and consequently today it is 

 impossible to assign the State's deer to any specific subspecies. Accord- 

 ing to Hosley (1956, p. 228) : "One effect of the widespread trans- 

 planting of Lake States deer into the south and east and of other 

 similar moves has been to mix up thoroughly the races existing in 

 most of the deer range." 



MARINE MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



The following list of marine mammals comprises only those that 

 have stranded on Maryland beaches, or have been observed in waters 

 off the Maryland coast and in Chesapeake Bay. The list does not in- 

 clude all the marine mammals that may occur in Maryland waters, 

 and many additional species will eventually be discovered. Some of 

 these unrecorded species have stranded on beaches to the north and 

 south of Maryland and must also pass through Maryland waters. 

 Only those, however, which have actually been reported from the 

 State will be discussed in any detail. 



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