The deer family by Roosevelt Theodore 1858-1919

Author:Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Deer, Hunting
Publisher: New York, MacMillan
Published: 1903-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

RANGE OF BLACK-TAIL DEER

("ODOCOILEUS COLUMBIANUS AND SUBSPECIES)

By Dr. C. Hart Merriam

central part of the state is the common mule-deer.

On the other hand, it is quite certain that far down in Lower California is a very small specimen of the mule-deer that occasionally reaches into California. Though I have never seen it, I have seen its antlers, and know of three being killed a hundred miles north of the Mexican line. The largest, a four-year-old buck in good condition, weighed only fifty pounds, and the next largest, a barren doe and fat, weighed but forty. This deer hardly ever comes out of the very heaviest brush. It is quite an accident to see one at all, and little is known of its habits. It is so small that it cannot be mistaken for the common deer, and there can be no mistake about a set of full antlers such as I have seen in Lower California. But it is too rare to hunt.

Over all this range the common mule-deer is found, from coast to mountain top, in all sorts of cover and absence of cover, so long as there is enough rough ground for which he can steer if trouble arises. Though a clumsy-looking animal compared with the blacktail or the Virginia deer, the mule-deer is still full of grace and beauty. His awkwardness is only when unsuspicious, at which time deer and antelope generally lack the elegant lines they have when looking for danger. The ears, eight inches long and

seven wide, that a moment ago looked so stupid when they were thrown back and the animal had its head down, suddenly round out to a graceful oval the minute they are thrown forward in quest of danger, and seem not a whit too large, even in the fawn, on which they are almost as large as on the adult. The angularity of a moment ago gives sudden place to flowing lines that are pretty even in a poor deer and charming on a fat one.

Still more surprising is the change when the mule-deer concludes that 'danger is imminent. Though he knows right well how to canter, and can lay himself to the ground in dead run like a horse if necessary, he seems to enjoy leaping high, as if to tempt your fire, and for this he prefers the bouncing gait. All four hoofs strike the ground with one far-sounding thump which sends it aloft much higher than the common leap of the Virginia deer. The feet are gathered closely up as it rises, held so till on the descent, when they are again thrown downward like steel springs to spurn the ground. This makes a gait that is exceedingly pretty, though on principle much more tiresome than the lower loping pace of other deer. The animal is all the time throwing itself higher than is needed, thus lengthening the time between the points of striking ground without increasing the distance between them. The consequence is that, because it will

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.