Oh Deer!

Today's Animal of the day is the White-tailed Deer!

Check out those antlers!

So you may be wondering what's so cool about a deer? Well I'll tell you!

• White-Tailed Deer live from Southern Canada to South America, usually in meadows and fields with nearby forests. 
• White tail deers are herbivores, and have a stomach specially adapted to digest plants including twigs and fungus. 
• Their fur changes color with the season. In the summer they have reddish brown coats and in the winter they have greyish-brown fur. This only occurs in the adults, the fawns have a reddish-brown coat with white dots
• The bucks (males) have antlers which annually fall off in the winter. They use the antlers to fight over mates and territory. 
• Female deer have 1-3 fawns. The fawns stay with their mother for a year until she chases them off before she has her new litter.



 This adorable fawn has white spots to help it camouflage

So you want a Pet Whitetail Deer....
We all saw Bambi, and I'm pretty sure there is not a person on this Earth who would not have adopted him after his mother was shot. However that would not have been a good idea, Let's talk about why!

• They're Nocturnal. Deer like to look for food during the night time. That means they'll be up and active while you're trying to sleep. With those hooves and antlers clanging around, that can't be quiet. 
• They'll bug you. A bug called the deer tick lives on deer. This tick can infect humans with Lyme disease. That's not really pleasant.
• Deers like to run. If you've ever noticed, when a human gets close to a deer, the deer will run. Deer can run 30 mph. So being in a closed place with a creature that it likes to run from may not be a good idea. 
• It's Complicated. In Ohio, it's not illegal to own a deer, however there are a lot of rules. You have to have a license and you can't take the deer from the wild. If you manage to get the deer, there's a lot of regulations on its enclosure and strict policies for what happens if it escapes. It seems like a lot of effort. 

So that's the White-Tailed deer for you! And for some comic relief here's a video of a Beagle meeting an unusually friendly deer:  

Also, I had to post this too, although it's not directly a deer video, here's a HILARIOUS video of a Woman who seems really confused about the Deer crossing sign.