Don’t Pass the Buck!

Advice from a Deer - Don’t Pass the Buck! Take Responsibility for Your Actions.  

The largest concentration of deer species in North America can be found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains between Alberta and British Columbia.  Here you can find white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, elk, and moose.  Where I live in Lethbridge, AB you can often find deer foraging for food just down the street in my neighbourhood.

Deer are classified as hoofed ruminants.  My first question was what does ruminant mean? The meaning of ruminant told me that deer are even-toed ungulate mammals that chew the cud regurgitated from its rumen.  Oh dear, two more words to look up; ungulate and rumen.  

Ungulate mammals have four hooves.  Rumen is the name of the first stomach of a ruminant which receives food or cud from the oesophagus and partly digests it with the aid of bacteria and then passes it on to the second compartment of the stomach in the animal. The ruminants comprise the cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer, giraffes, and all their relatives. So, now you know what a ruminant is!

Deer have two large and two small hooves on each foot.  The males of most species have antlers and in one deer species, even the females have antlers. I want to tell you about the white-tailed deer.  The coat of a white-tailed deer is tan or reddish-brown.  There is a white  ring around the eye and their tail is obviously white.  Only the bucks (males) have antlers.

Deer are attracted to plants such as red clover, chicory and grass.  They enjoy feeding on certain high-protein crops, such as peas, soybeans, turnips, alfalfa or corn and they adore the nutritious nuts that come from chestnuts and acorns.  A couple of their favourite fruits are apples, blueberries and blackberries. 

When it comes time for a deer or herd of deer to bed down, they will seek shelter under a rocky outcropping or under a stand of pine trees. Here they can stay dry and have a clear view of approaching predators.   During the daylight it is far more common for deer to sleep in heavy cover where they can feel secure. 

Because deer fall prey to many carnivores, they are usually alert. Deer can sleep anywhere they bed down and often they will sleep singly or in groups.  Most deer sleep on their sides with their heads up.  Baby deer or fawns sleep with their noses tucked under their hind legs.  Even though it is rare, some even sleep while standing up. Studies have shown that deer sleep an average of about 4.5 hours a day.

Females prefer to be alone in order to give birth.  If they are living in a herd or with other deer, they will leave them and find a quiet place where they can be on their own.  Deer have one litter each year with one to three fawns.  As a rule they have twins, but first-time mothers usually give birth to just one fawn. In the fall, a fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by the winter coat of an adult deer.  Female fawns will stay with their mothers for two year, while young bucks leave after a year.

Deer are shy, modest and rather timid animals.  They can smell danger and run away from it. Humans are the white-tailed deer’s major predator. A deer may stare at you while bobbing its head and stamping its feet, if it feels threatened by you. The body language of the deer suggests the deer is aware of your presence, he doesn’t like it, and he is trying to warn other deer in the area of the potential threat.

Deer are nocturnal, meaning they can see at night.  For this reason they are more active after dark.  

Here are the sayings I found on the Bookmark - Advice from a Deer.

• Look both ways before you cross the road

• Be a good listener

• Know when to lay low

• Tread lightly on the Earth

• Leap over obstacle

• Don’t pass the buck!

And these are my thoughts about each piece of advice. 

• Look both ways before you cross the road - often deer forget to follow this advice and getting hit by cars when crossing roads is one of the dangers drivers and deer face

• Be a good listener - deer are always alert and listening for sounds around them

• Know when to lay low - know when to be quietly working in the background doing what it right even when no one is watching

• Tread lightly on the Earth - be aware of your carbon footprint, take care of the earth

• Leap over obstacle - when challenges come your way take action and keep on moving forward

• Don’t pass the buck! - take responsibility for your actions

Have a great day everyone and don’t pass the buck!

# living life abundantly   # published author   # travelling tuesdays