Species of the Month

February’s article written by Brooke VanGroningen, Co-Op Student - Hamilton District Christian High School

If you were to walk through a snowy forest in winter, one thing you would likely be able to find is deer tracks. Deer generally stay within the square mile that makes up their home range, although they do have different grounds for feeding in the summer and winter and will migrate between these as the seasons change. Their diets also change with the season as different types of food become more or less available. In the spring and summer, green plants become their diet. In the fall deer will eat corn and nuts, and in the winter they’ll eat small woody plants and twigs.

White-tailed deer are named for the white on the underside of their tails, which they can use to ‘flag’ or warn each other of danger. Mothers will also use this to ensure their fawns can see them and stay near when running away. Does will have 1-3 fawns in the spring who will stay with their mother for a year or two before leaving to live on their own. Fawns are born with white spots that help camouflage them when their mother hides them to go forage for food. When a doe has more than one fawn, she will hide them in two different places to reduce the risk of one or all of them being found and harmed by predators. The fawns will lay down and wait where they are until their mother comes to find them for feedings, so if you ever stumble upon a fawn all by itself in the spring, just leave it be - its mother will come get it eventually.