Mule Deer

[abraxas]

 

[ashfordphoto]

these are super cluttered.

the thing I like about #2 is that the deer is playing peek-a-boo with you lol.

 

[abraxas]

these are super cluttered.

...

If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.

 

[abraxas]

bump

 

[tpe]

How on earth did you get a deer to clamber through the undergrowth to get its picture taken, very well done indeed .

Tim

 

[abraxas]

How on earth did you get a deer to clamber through the undergrowth to get its picture taken, very well done indeed .

Tim

Thanks for the clue Tim.

Don't see too many deer in my parts- didn't realize the greatest percentage of them are grazers rather than browsers. This type of habitat is more common to the area the shot was taken in where I usually see deer.

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) span a variety of habitats on the western coast of North America and thus, must be able to adapt to a variety of habitat types. If mule deer are so adaptable, how do they maintain a browser status? Are they truly browsers? If not, why don’t they eat more grasses?

A mule deer's body is adapted to browsing in the following ways:

1. A row of teeth shaped like chisels allow clipping food off stems or forbs close to the ground.
2. Long face with narrow muzzles that allow them to clip specific plant parts.
3. High intake rate, which accommodates for the small rumen, short retention time and high fermentation rate of browsers.

All these characteristics of mule deer point in the direction of a browser. They are able to eat the leaves and needles form trees and shrubs, small plants like alfalfa and even stems. However, research indicates that mule deer are not always so particular in what they eat. Instead, they adapt to a changing environment.

However out of place they look, I love living in the edge environments (desert/mountains). Sometimes the landscape changes entirely within a few hundred feet.

I always wondered how everyone else in the world get the deer to come out in the open.

I guess it was more about the adventure getting the shots rather than the shots themselves.