Deer

Deer are beautiful animals.  I'm reading The Hidden Life of Deer by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and I'm amazed at what I've learned about deer.  Here's an excerpt that surprised me:

"During the rut, a male will try to impregnate as many females as he can.  Some... will impregnate most of the females while others may impregnate none.  But the females may or may not keep the semen."  Wow!  If only human beings could do that!  Of course, we can use birth control, but avoiding pregnancy isn't as easy for us as it seems to be for does.  Read on: 

"If a doe wants to retain the semen, she will stand still after copulating, with her back arched.  She also may squat and strain as if to expel it.  Why would she do this?  Many animals have preferences, so perhaps she would rather carry someone else's fawn.  Or perhaps she chooses not to be pregnant at all."  Absolutely fabulous!  Just squat and strain!

Here's another tidbit:

"More males are born than females.  We do that too.  Baby boys outnumber baby girls, allegedly to compensate for our warlike inclinations."  Hmmm.  News to me.  I always believed that baby girls outnumbered baby boys.

"Like war, the rut is conducted at the expense of life and profoundly engages all those who are involved with it, at enormous cost to one, but not both genders.  As far as male deer are concerned, the rut is the ultimate distraction.

"Our response is to open the hunting season.  Taking full advantage of the needs and distraction of the deer, we fill the woods with invasive primates camouflaged to look like piles of leaves who sneak around, sprinkling estrus doe urine and manipulating gadgets that sound like antlers clashing, all designed to trick rut-consumed males into coming in their direction."  It's a shame, I think, that we hunt deer, or any animal for that matter.  Sad.

This is a wonderful book.  Elizabeth Marshall Thomas writes beautifully and her books peak my curiosity.