Last evening, a young Whitetail Deer appeared at dusk. It found safety under some trees sheltering the north bank of Carillon Stonegate Pond. For the next 45 minutes, it drank from our pond before disappearing into the woodlands to the north for the night.
Young deer wear a reddish-brown coat; really young deer will have white spots. On Carillon Stonegate Pond, young deer typically start appearing on our north banks in late May or early June. While occasionally venturing out in the daylight hours, Whitetail Deer are primarily nocturnal or “crepuscular”, browsing mainly at dawn and dusk.
"Whitetail" refers to the white underside of the deer's tail, which it displays and wags when it senses danger. Illinois designated white-tailed deer as the official state animal in 1980 after winning the vote of the schoolchildren of Illinois (state animal in eight other states).
Take a hike and see what you can find – and identify!
(Excuse the lighting at dusk - cannot even create proper lighting during a Zoom call!)
Comentários