Saturday, March 21, 2015

Bambi Dropped By

Well, actually, it was Bambi's mom. Her fawn was tucked safely away in the nearby meadow. She was good enough to come by as I happened to have my 70-200mm zoom locked and loaded.


Ever wonder where the expression "doe eyed" came from? Yeah. This.

Maybe there should be another expression... "deer eared." Yikes! Think sound is a big part of these animals staying alive? Mule deer are known for their big ears, so it's a good look for her.


Speaking of staying alive, here she is a month later with her fall coat, but check out the gash on her left rear leg.


You can see it running nearly horizontally about halfway between her knee and heel (the shank below her thigh, not down by the hoof). It looks like a darkened furry flap, like something was tearing at her achilles. Hmmmm, I'm thinking coyotes. I saw a pack in this same spot a few weeks earlier. It's possible she snagged herself on dead limbs (I sure have), but I've seen her silently bounding through the thickest, brushiest, dead tree-filled mess with all the grace of a ballet dancer. Seems unlikely she would have gashed herself.

Tom Bradley  ©  2015


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