neighborhood naturalist CORVALLIS, OREGON — FALL 2017
Black-tailed Deer article and illustrations by Don Boucher photography by Lisa Millbank
D
eer move with a kinetic poetry, and it’s a pleasure to watch them. John Muir wrote about the Black-tailed Deer in Yosemite, “...climbing with graceful ease and reserve of strength that cannot fail to arouse admiration.” Deer are ambassadors of nature, and a reminder to us all that we can encounter large wild animals ourselves, not just by merely reading a textbook or watching a wildlife documentary. Everybody agrees that deer are pretty and graceful. Unfortunately, they are often regarded as simple herbivores, and it seems the only people who pay close attention to them are hunters and wildlife managers. In truth, deer are intelligent, resourceful creatures with amazing senses and complex social lives. Even if you don’t see deer often, there are more out there than you might guess. And if deer are commonplace to you, there are fascinating hidden aspects of their lives. As the only large wild mammal that’s relatively easy to see, deer allow us the opportunity to gain a nuanced and deeper understanding of nature. We have three species of deer in western Oregon: Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Roosevelt Elk and Columbian White-tailed Deer. The ubiquitous Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) is found from the western Cascades to the coast in Oregon and Washington and in parts of California and British Columbia. It’s the same species as the Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus), which lives from the Cascade crest eastward. The Roosevelt Elk is scattered in the Coast Range, Cascades and a few pockets of relatively wild
Neighborhood Naturalist, Fall 2017 v15 #3 • page 1