Deer of the Forest
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The deer is a beautiful and graceful animal with slender legs
that give them almost a fragile appearance...but they are much
tougher than they look; they have to be to survive in the wild.
Deer are the smallest members of the Cervidae family, which
includes elk, caribou and moose. Deer have a slender shape,
which when combined with natural coloration, helps them blend
into their woodland surroundings.
The three most-developed senses of the deer are hearing,
smell and sight. A deer can swivel each of its ears around
on its head to listen in two different directions at once,
and the ears are large and cup air enabling the deer to pick
up sounds from far away. Their large eyes provide a wide
range of view, with binocular vision(three dimensional)
forward and monocular(two dimensional) to the sides. Deer
are virtually color-blind but they see shapes sharply and
clearly and can detect the slightest movement.
The antlers are not horns, since horns are permanent, and
antlers begin growing in the Spring and drop off in winter.
Each year the antlers grow thicker and bigger than the
previous year and usually have more points. |
Baby deer are called Fawns and are born in the Spring or
early Summer. The fawns are born odor-free so the mother
deer keeps her distance, except when nursing, to avoid
having her own scent draw predators. The fawns white spots
are created by white-tipped hairs, which wear off by the
end of summer leaving the fawn's coat a uniform reddish brown.
Deer eat grasses, leaves, tender stems, soft green shoots,
berries, nuts and seeds. In winter, they eat mostly browse-
branch tips, small twigs, soft bark and evergreen needles.
In parts of the country with heavy snows, deer congregate
in sheltering stands of evergreen trees, which are called
"deer yards".
Predators of the deer are humans, coyotes, wolves and the
mountain lion. Severe winters, disease and highways also
take a toll on deer. With a top speed of 36 miles per hour,
a mature deer can outrun any predator and can leap obstacles
eight feet high. |
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Moose are found in sparesly wooded areas of mixed or deciduous trees, near lakes or rivers. They are good swimmers.
Moose can be found in Alaska, Canada and northern parts of America.
Moose Diet
Moose obtain most of their food from aquatic and marsh plants such as horsetails and pondweed. Moose also eat grass, lichen, plants growing on the forest floor, peeled-off bark and leaves stripped with their bottom lip from willows, sallows and poplars.
Moose, like other deer, are ruminants. Their digestive systems contain micro-organisms that break down vegetation.
The common link between moose and elk is an interesting one that in the past has caused much confusion simply due to their respective regional names. The moose (in North America) and the elk (in Europe) are actually the same species of animal with differences analogous to those of different races within the human population.
Therefore there aren't really any moose, as such, in Europe though there are elk in N. America (see below).
The actual dictionary entry for ELK is:
The largest existing deer of Europe and Asia.
North American Wapiti.
Moose are also found at the home of the author of this page! My internet
nickname is Moose and I have been sent some really nice Moose things.
The one below is the biggest, thereby called the "King Moose" and he was
a 2001 Christmas gift.
Moose Facts from
Moose
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