Deer in the Garden

For a few years now, we've been getting white-tail deer rambling about our garden at night. The fact that they come at night makes it difficult to get good photographs, but we always like to see them. Sometimes we only hear them, making huffing noises as they munch on weeds and other delectables. 

Our neighbour isn't quite so enchanted. The deer keep eating his tulips; he has a scant few this year because the deer aren't put off by the lavendar he planted, which they're supposed to be. The deer, do, however, avoid the lavendar itself. And his wife (who must have better night capabilities on her camera than we do) does get some good shots of the deer.

We knew a bit about deer already, but we looked up some more interesting information, specifically on whitetail deer, from our copy of Mammals by William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider and  Science Kids, where we also got the photo (http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/deer.html):

Male deer are called 'bucks'; large male deer are sometimes called 'stags.' Females are called 'does,' and young deer are known as 'fawns.' 

Whitetail deer are a reddish colour in the summer, and blue-grey in the winter (also hard to distinguish in the middle of the night). 

They browse for acorns, twigs, shrubs, fungi, and whatever grass and herbs are in season. We're not sure what they eat in our yard, but we have seen them munching on greenery. They can also graze for fallen acorns in our yard, as well as the occasional toadstool. 

They can run 35-40 miles an hour, and jump 30 feet vertically. They can also swim.  

Their breeding season is Nov.-Feb., and they have their young around six and a half months later. The young may stay with their mother for a year. 

Male deer grow new antlers every year, so when we see them in the wintertime, it's harder to tell the males from the females. Males use their antlers to fight rivals for the mating privileges of females.