Please watch this informative video:
This is rutting season people it starts now. With changes in climate we will not only changes in migration patterns but we will also see different wildlife encroaching on new land especially as changes will cause breeding patterns to oscillate to extremes. When too many are born in a season or series of seasons the herds and solo animals will explore trying to find new territory.
Now this is an animal in the smallest case on the North American Continent is the Key Deer at around 50-75 lbs and the largest the Elk/Moose at 325 to 1,100 pounds and have antlers with breadths exceeding four feet to a side each.
These animals do nothing but romp in forested/chaparral areas. All day. Every day. These are tough mothers and they will stomp on you. Literally if they get the chance. You will not win a fight with them. How do you get away?
Key Deer:
Key Deer Refuge broadsheet (pdf)
Apparently this guy did the right thing.
"If you are attacked, climbing a tree is your best bet," she says. "Because if he's decided to go for you, he'll go for you. Run and he'll chase; curl up and he'll attack you on the ground. I'm afraid the only real answer is not to be there. Deer are wild animals, and stags can become very aggressive at this time of year." On the positive side, the rut only lasts a few weeks.
Don't set out licks within any trail sight. So the same with any feeding treats you may want to give them. If you have fruit bearing trees or a garden. Keep an eye on youngsters and pets at all times while they are outdoors. Bootleg planters claim they have seen deer climb fences up to eight feet tall to get to their crops.
The best thing to do is know where the rutting is going on and stay far away. And do not play with your hunting supplies especially if you use a doe scent attractant.
Elk:
Article on Elk
White tail deer:
Whitetail deer are most abundant in the eastern U.S., though none of the contiguous 48 states are totally devoid of the animal, and the only states lacking viable populations are California, Nevada, and Utah. In conjunction with its abundance, the whitetail's ability and willingness to live near human population centers make it the most commonly sighted (and photographed, and hunted, and run over) large wild mammal we have.
O. virginianus rarely exceeds 42 inches in height at the shoulders, with 36 to 40 inches being common. Its length (nose to tip of tail) runs from 60 to 75 inches or so, with live weight averaging around 150 pounds. (The largest whitetail buck on record pegged the scales at 425 pounds.) Coloration varies according to geography, as well as by season, with most whitetails showing a reddish brown pelage in summer, then changing to a much heavier gray-brown or even bluish coat for winter.
The whitetail's most striking physical characteristic, however, is the one from which it takes its name. Though the tail of O. virginianus is brown on top with a dark stripe down its center, the underside is as pure a white as occurs in nature. When the tail is held tightly against the rump, little if any white is visible, and the animal remains well camouflaged. But when the tail is erected to expose its snowy underside (and reveal a small white rump patch), we see the conspicuous "white flag" for which this species is famous.
The antlers of the whitetail have all of their tines, or points, sprouting from the two main beams. By contrast, a mule deer buck's antlers are bifurcated—that is, each of the two main beams forks into two smaller beams, each of those forks into two more, and so on.
The mule deer is the largest of the Odocoileus genus, standing, on the average, 40 to 42 inches at the shoulders and stretching 80 inches or so nose to tail. An adult buck will weigh from 150 to 300 pounds on the hoof, with does averaging 100 to 175 pounds. The occasional trophy-sized mule deer buck may weigh a whopping 450 pounds.
Mule Deer:
Blacktail deer on average are smaller than their Whitetail and Mule deer cousins. Here in north western California a 150 pound buck (live weight) is considered very good size. California Blacktail bucks do occasionally approach 200 pounds, but from my experience, it's a rare occurrence. Years ago I killed a huge bodied forked horn in San Joaquin county that tipped the scales at 171 pounds field dressed. To date this buck is the largest Columbian Blacktail I have ever personally witnessed.
Although I have little personal experience with Oregon’s Blacktail I am told they are slightly larger in body than California bucks. Washington on the other hand produces some extremely large bodied Blacktails. If my experience with this website is any indication, it appears that bucks weighing 175 lb. field dressed are not that uncommon in the "Evergreen state".
Antler size in Blacktails runs contrary to what one might expect and is an often debated topic among Blacktail hunters. In the Columbian Blacktail, body size appears to have little relationship to horn size. This is generally not the situation with Whitetail and Mule deer. In their case, body size and antler size are closely related. As a rule of thumb, both get larger as you travel north. The larger the body the larger the antlers. This becomes very evident when you compare a Florida Whitetail to a Michigan Whitetail, or a Desert Mule Deer to a Canadian Mule Deer.
Blacktail Deer:
Sitka Deer of Alaska:
General Description
The Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) is smaller, stockier, and has a shorter face than other members of the black-tailed group. Fawns are born in early June and weigh 6-8 pounds at birth. The average October weight of adults is about 80 pounds for females (does) and 120 pounds for males (bucks), although bucks of over 200 pounds have been reported. The summer coat of reddish-brown is replaced by dark brownish gray in winter. A Sitka black-tail buck’s antlers are dark brown with typical black-tailed branching. Normal adult antler development is three points on each side. Antlers are relatively small, with very few scoring more than 110 points by the Boone and Crockett system. The average life-span of a Sitka black-tail is about 10 years, but some live as long as 15 years.
Sitka Deer:
Moose are the largest of all the deer species. Males are immediately recognizable by their huge antlers, which can spread 6 feet (1.8 meters) from end to end. Moose have long faces and muzzles that dangle over their chins. A flap of skin known as a bell sways beneath each moose's throat.
Moose are so tall that they prefer to browse higher grasses and shrubs because lowering their heads to ground level can be difficult. In winter they eat shrubs and pinecones, but they also scrape snow with their large hooves to clear areas for browsing on mosses and lichens. These hooves also act as snowshoes to support the heavy animals in soft snow and in muddy or marshy ground.
In summer, food is far more plentiful in the northern regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. When the ice melts, moose are often seen in lakes, rivers, or wetlands, feeding on aquatic plants both at and below the surface. Moose are at home in the water and, despite their staggering bulk, are good swimmers. They have been seen paddling several miles at a time, and will even submerge completely, staying under for 30 seconds or more.
Moose: