I was hiking Kestner Homestead Trailhead when I came across this black-tailed deer
You have probably heard of white-tailed deer, but did you know there is a black-tailed deer? These deer are found in the coastal areas of western North America. I saw this black-tailed deer in the Olympic Peninsula in Washinton State. More specifically, this photograph was taken in Olympic National Park near Quinault. There are many trails to explore in this area. I was hiking Kestner Homestead Trailhead when I came across this black-tailed deer. At first, I came across it resting in the shade on a hot summer day. I approached slowly and was able to observe it for some time.
To the casual observer, there is not a lot of difference between the white-tailed deer, compared to the black-tailed deer, compared to the mule deer. One of the best ways tell which is which is by comparing their tails. A white-tailed deer has a brown tail with white on the outer edges and underside. A black-tailed deer has, you guessed it, a black-tail. A mule deer has a smaller tail with a black tip to it.
As you can see in this photograph, this black-tailed deer is regrowing its antlers. These deer typically shed their antlers between January and March. I took this photograph in June, and you can tell his antlers are just starting to grow back.
The rutting season is between November and early December. The does will have a gestation period of six to seven months. The fawns are born between May and June. A doe will typically have between one to three fawns weighing around six to eight pounds. These fawns are scentless for the first part of their life. This allows their mother to leave them alone to go off and eat so she can produce enough milk to feed the fawns.
A doe will typically have between one to three fawns
Did you know?
- In the 1960’s, ~40 black-tailed deer were released on Kauai, Hawaii. Their numbers are now around 1,000.
- Black-tailed deer are a subspecies of mule deer.
- Black-tailed deer have ears that move independently of each other, allowing them to have multidirectional hearing.
- Black-tailed deer can consume western poison oak. The leaves and limbs of western poison oak have an oil called urushiol which causes an allergic reaction in humans. The black-tailed deer are not bothered by this.
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