Outdoor Trivia: What do you know?

To wrap up 2014, test your outdoor knowledge with the third annual year-end outdoor trivia quiz. 

1. Fish use what to obtain oxygen?

a. Mouth

b. Nose

c. Gills

2. Do white-tailed deer have upper canine teeth?

a. Always

b. Never

c. Sometimes

Not your Christmas mistletoe

Tis’ the season for mistletoe hanging in doorways to add romantic cheer. True mistletoe may spread cheer but another mistletoe--dwarf mistletoe--doesn’t spread cheer throughout the year. 

Dwarf mistletoe is anything but romantic for conifer trees because once infected a conifer most likely will die prematurely. 

For many people, dwarf mistletoe is most often recognized by the “witches’ brooms” it creates on conifers. The large mass of small twigs and branches is an abnormal proliferation varying from tight clumps to large loose fans depending on the species.

Dwarf mistletoe causes conifers to produce an abnormal proliferation of branches along the trunk called "witches' broom"

How do deer survive winter eating twigs?

A deer munches on the tips of young trees, ripping the leafless twigs from the plants. Surviving the winter on twigs isn’t very nutritious but the stomachs of deer are equipped to squeeze all the nutrients they can out of the tough twigs.

Deer prefer the tips of branches because they are the most nutritious and easiest to bite off

All ruminants (the deer family, antelopes, sheep, goats, cattle and giraffes) sustain themselves on leaves, twigs, grass and other plant matter since they are herbivores. To extract the most from plant matter, ruminants have a four-chambered stomach--not four stomachs as some people say. 

Blister rust decimated white pine forests

The western white pine was the most abundant forest type in the Inland Northwest 50 years ago. Long, clear trunks skyrocketed to heights of 200 feet which isn’t large compared to other conifers. But their tenacity to grow fast after fires and their resistance to many diseases allows them to be ecologically successful.

Fire provides openings for the fast-growing seedlings to outcompete other conifers and dominate the forest canopy for over 200 years. However, western white pine aren’t as resistant to fire as ponderosa pine or larch. 

Western white pine seedlings can become established in moderately shady areas, like beneath a mature pine, but mature pines prefer full sun

Western white pine can be recognized by the bundles of five slender needles that are three to five inches long. At high elevations, whitebark pine and western white pine can be confused since both have five needles. However, western white pine needles have a whitish-blue appearance and whitebark pine needles have a yellowish-green appearance. 

Daddy longlegs not spiders or venomous

As a child I remember daddy longlegs in the basement bathroom, especially in the shower. Not liking spiders, I never got close and took quick showers. I also believed the legend that daddy longlegs had enough venom to kill a person but their mouths weren’t big enough to bite us. 

Daddy long legs typically have eight legs but the legs fall off easily when grabbed by a predator

Not until later did I find out that daddy longlegs weren’t spiders and the legend is a myth. 

25 turkey facts to gobble up

Thanksgiving brings turkeys into the spotlight which usually is detrimental to them. So here are 25 turkey tidbits to ponder while your turkey is cooking in the oven.

1. A male turkey is a tom, a female turkey is a hen and baby turkeys are called poults. Juvenile males are called jakes. A group of turkeys is called a flock.

Poults leave the nest within 12 to 24 hours of hatching

2. Male turkeys are also called gobblers because of the “gobble” call they use to announce themselves to females. The gobble can be heard up to a mile away.

3. Wild turkeys make fifteen different vocalizations, including a “purr”, “yelp”, “kee-kee” and a clicking noise made by the females.

4. In addition to gobbling, toms impress hens by fanning their large tail, drooping their wings and strutting. 

Western hemlock tolerate life in the shadows

Fastest. Strongest. Survival of the fittest. When push comes to shove in nature, usually the weak or meek don’t survive. And in the case of trees, the towering giants bask in the sun and shade out their competition--at least in theory. 

A drooping top is one way to identify western hemlocks

Waiting in the shadows of some towering Douglas-fir and western redcedar are inconspicuous western hemlock. Often recognized by their droopy tops, western hemlock survive where many other species cannot--in the shade. 

By no means are western hemlock shade-loving trees. Instead they are shade tolerant trees. Western hemlock grows abundantly in the shade of mature trees waiting for them to topple and then they bolt upwards to the open canopy. 

Frogs breathe through skin and swallow with their eyes!

In the spring, I’m always listening for the first robin to sing and the first frog to ribbit. But in the fall, I never know if an insect song or frog croak will be the last I hear until spring. 

Just a few weeks ago a frog croaking caught my attention. Not only because it was October and I thought the frog should be settled in for winter (though it has been unseasonably warm) but because I heard it on a dry, ponderosa pine hillside. What was a frog doing up there away from water? 

Columbia spotted frog

Shouldn’t frogs be down in the mud on the bottom of ponds with turtles for the winter? Apparently not. 

What is that big beetle?

Whether a bird, plant or insect, identifying one I haven’t seen before is always interesting. So when I received an email that Cal Russell was displaying a big beetle on his counter at Boundary Tractor, I hurried down to take a look at the mystery beetle. 

I’ve seen big beetles before but not this big. The roughly two inch long, reddish-brown beetle had long antennae, gnarly-looking legs and short spines on its neck. 

Ponderous borer/western pine sawyer

Partly due to the long antennae, the beetle is classified in the long-horned beetle family. Like some other species, this beetle has many common names: ponderous borer, pine sawyer, western pine sawyer, spined woodborer and ponderosa pine borer. Even scientifically the beetle has two names because the classification has changed: Ergates spiculatus and Trichocnemis spiculatus. 

Chickens of the woods not always easy to tell apart

When a grouse flushes from the brush, my heart skips a beat before I scan to see who made the noise. Was it a spruce grouse, ruffed grouse or dusky grouse? Each of the three species living in North Idaho has certain characteristics that help with identification.

A yellowish-orange comb above the eye helps identify a dusky grouse

If the grouse is big, it most likely is a dusky grouse. Dusky grouse are twice the size of ruffed grouse which are roughly one pound. The spruce grouse is the smallest of the three species. 

Do you know your cones?

Plink, plink, plink, plop. Plink, plink, plink, plop. The sound of a busy squirrel harvesting cones as they drop to the forest floor. The squirrel is harvesting cones with the seeds still intact so he can stash them for winter. 

A few “green” cones may be forgotten by the squirrel and they join the hundreds of other cones in varying stages of decay that have fallen onto the forest floor. 

A green grand fir cone most likely harvested by a squirrel 

After hearing the squirrel’s chatter, I decided to wander through the woods and see how many different cones I could find. I didn’t find cones from all the conifers in the area but I found nine--from the large western white pine cone to the tiny western redcedar cone. 

How many cones can you identify? Clockwise from top left: ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, western larch, western hemlock, western redcedar, western white pine, grand fir, Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir. 

Recent swarms of insects are woolly aphids

During the past few weeks, swarms of tiny blue and white insects have pelted windshields like raindrops and stuck to the clothing of anyone walking through them. The millions of almost cottonwood-seed-fluff-like insects are none other than woolly aphids, also known as ash bugs, fluff bugs or fairy flies. 

Like many other animals, woolly aphids are on the move in the fall because they are migrating. They aren’t migrating to warmer climates like birds but instead to a different host plant. 

Swarms of woolly aphids can look like snow falling or drifting cottonwood seeds--but out of season!

Digging deep into the formation of igneous rocks

Myrtle’s Turtle and the Beehive are two of the most spectacular rock exposures in the Selkirk Mountains. They are the Half Domes of the Selkirk Mountains and rightly so because they, including Half Dome in Yosemite, are masses of granitic rock. 

Myrtle's Turtle is a huge dome of exposed granitic rock

Last week, I discussed the composition of granitic rocks but didn’t delve into the formation. Going deep beneath the surface reveals the variations of the granitic rocks in the Selkirk Mountains.

Rocks in the Selkirks not all the same

From the giant rock faces of Myrtle’s Turtle and the Beehive to the rocky shorelines of Trout Lake, one can’t help but notice the rock that forms the Selkirk Mountains. 

The speckled black, white and gray rocks found underfoot on trails and shorelines in most of the Selkirk Mountains of North Idaho, except for the far northwest corner of Boundary County, are granitic rocks.

A collection of rocks found on the Hidden Lake trail shows some of the variations of granitic rock in the Selkirk Mountains

From afar the rocks on Roman Nose look similar to West Fork Ridge but there are slight variations. 

What’s the difference between a bug and a beetle?

Often I find myself referring to any insect as a bug unless I know specifically what it is, such as a dragonfly, butterfly or praying mantis. However, upon trying to identify an insect I found out that bugs are insects but not all insects are bugs. 

Insect and bug are often used interchangeably but from an entomological standpoint they are different. Insect refers to an arthropod with six jointed legs, an exoskeleton, generally two pairs of wings, and a body consisting of a head, thorax and abdomen. 

All insects have six legs like this green shield bug

Insects are divided into 25 orders and one order, Hemiptera, classifies bugs. The largest order, Coleoptera, classifies beetles. 

Some common bugs include aphids, cicadas, water striders, stinkbugs and spittlebugs. Common beetles include fireflies, ladybird beetles and cucumber beetles.

What is the difference between a bug and a beetle? 

Pronghorn fastest land mammal in North America

Capable of bursts of speed greater than 60 miles per hour and sustained speeds of 45 mph, the pronghorn gracefully speeds across the American Plains and grasslands across the West. 

If a pronghorn and a cheetah raced, the cheetah would win the sprint and the pronghorn would win the marathon. 

Pronghorns stand two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half feet tall at the shoulders and range from 75 to 140 pounds

The never-ending aspen

One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking aspen have a flat stem that causes the leaf to tremble in the slightest breeze.

Aspen leaves are nearly circular with pointed tips

An added bonus is that aspen trees aren’t usually found by themselves but in groves. So when the leaves tremble, there is a pleasant sound all-around. 

Garter snakes most common snake in Idaho

Unlike southern Idaho, North Idaho is thankfully devoid of poisonous snakes. The snakes that do live in the forested region of the north are harmless to humans and the ones you’ll most likely encounter are garter snakes. 

Two types of garter snakes live in Boundary County--the common garter snake and the western terrestrial garter snake. Both have three cream to yellow stripes running down their length, with one dorsal (back) stripe and one on each side. The stripes on the western terrestrial garter snake can appear wavy because dark, pencil eraser-sized spots scattered over its back overlap the edges of the stripes.

Common garter snake

Another way to tell the two snakes apart is the color between the stripes--the common garter snake is very dark to black while the western terrestrial garter snake is olive to greenish gray. Additionally, most common garter snakes have red spots on the sides of their bodies. 

Slug’s life revolves around mucous

Silvery tracks cross the deck and occasionally the concrete walkway in the morning. During the driest days of summer the silvery tracks were absent but with the recent rains the tracks of the slug are back.

Most active at night, slug tracks are usually seen more than the slugs themselves. The slug’s biggest danger is drying out so it tends to seek shelter during the day under debris or in the soil. 

A layer of mucous secreted by the pedal slime gland helps slugs move across the ground

Horsetails rooted in history

Long before scouring pads were invented for cleaning dishes, Europeans and American settlers utilized what was available in nature--scouring rushes and horsetails. The widespread use of scouring rushes for cleaning wood and pewter utensils gave scouring rushes their name. 

The branches of horsetails grow in whorls around a single stem

Not only good for cleaning, Native Americans used horsetails like sandpaper. Equisetum species, including scouring rushes and horsetails, contain silica in their cell walls which makes them rough to the touch and good for cleaning and sanding. 

Horsetails and scouring rushes are unique plants found almost worldwide except for Australia, New Zealand and various islands. The common horsetail is one of the most widespread plants in the world, even found in the Arctic. 

Dragonflies most successful predator in animal kingdom

Dragonflies, butterflies and ladybugs are often considered “nice” insects with their pretty colors and seemingly harmlessness. However, dragonflies are far from harmless--they may be one of the most successful predators in the animal kingdom. 

African lions are ferocious but their hunts are only successful 25 percent of the time. The great white shark only captures prey 50 percent of the time.

For the small size of the dragonfly, it can be brutal. Dragonflies capture 90 to 95 percent of the prey they hunt and it can be devoured within seconds with the dragonfly’s serrated teeth. Some dragonflies capture and eat their prey so quickly the act can only be seen on high-speed cameras.

Dragonflies hold their wings straight out when at rest

Waxwings flock to fruit year-round

By mid-summer most birds have finished nesting and the young have fledged,  but one bird is a late nester compared to the rest--the waxwing. 

The emergence of insects coincides with the hatching of birds in the spring. But waxwings wait until the berry crop is ripe to raise their young.

Cedar waxwing nestlings wait for their parents to bring back ripe fruit

Both the Bohemian and cedar waxwing eat more fruit than any other bird in North America, including fruit from serviceberries, chokecherries, dogwoods, crabapples, mountain ash, junipers, strawberries and blackberries. Bohemian waxwings can eat two to three times their weight in fruit each day and more if they are feeding nestlings. 

Grass is under our feet and in our cupboards

What do barley, corn and fescue all have in common? They are all grasses. From the green grass in yards to fields of oats to meadows of pine grass, grasses comprise one of the most important families of plants both economically and ecologically. 

Corn, wheat and rice are three important cereal crops that are grasses. Cattle graze on grasses along with large herbivorous mammals such as deer and elk. Grass is important to waterfowl for food, birds to seek shelter within, and an important source of food for many other animals. 

Deer are one of many herbivorous animals that forage on grass

Over 9,000 species of grasses exist on Earth and they all have similar characteristics that identify them as grasses. All grasses have narrow leaves with parallel veins, inconspicuous flowers and nodes where the leaves join the stems. The stems are round or flattened and usually hollow. 

How do animals beat the heat?

On sweltering 90-plus degree days we can retreat to basements or air conditioned buildings but how do animals beat the heat? 

Often animals gain relief from the heat in some of the ways we do-- taking a dip in the water, finding shade and sweating.

Moose cool down while foraging for aquatic plants

A hummingbird? An insect? What is it?

What hovers like a hummingbird, flies like a hummingbird but has antennae? A hummingbird moth. Aptly named, hummingbird moths can easily be mistaken for hummingbirds but they are a sphinx moth. 

Hummingbird moths can easily be mistaken for hummingbirds when they hover at a flower

Sphinx moths are one of the few groups of insects that can hover. Since a few species resemble hummingbirds and are active during the day (unlike most moths) they are commonly referred to as hummingbird moths.

Don’t be fooled by a coot

The American coot may swim like a duck, dive like a duck, and look like a duck but it isn’t a duck. As much as coots resemble ducks they are not a duck. Instead, the gray to black birds with white bills are more closely related to the gangly sandhill crane. 

Coots often intermingle with waterfowl which lends one to think they are a duck. However, their small head, scrawny legs and lobed feet reveal they aren’t a duck. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad lobes of skin between their long toes that help them kick through the water and support their weight on mucky ground. 

Coots have dark bodies and white bills

Magnitude of beargrass blooms unpredictable

While on the Parker Ridge trail below Parker Peak last summer, I rounded a corner and was surprised by the hundreds of beargrass blooms filling the avalanche chute in front of me. The magnitude of blooms was the largest I had ever seen and one I won’t forget. Will the blooms be of the same magnitude this summer?

Rhizomes and seeds help create dense fields of beargrass

Summer serenaded by insect chorus

Have you taken the time to listen on a warm, summer evening? Trains, trucks and lawn mowers are the first sounds you may hear but if you tune them out you may hear a chorus of clicking, buzzing, chirping and creaking. You probably won’t see who is playing the sounds coming from the grasses, fields, trees and shrubs. As soon as you approach, the musicians--crickets, katydids and cicadas--will stop playing. 

Crickets, katydids and cicadas don’t all sing in the evening, some sing during the day and some sing at night. Since they are cold-blooded the insects need to warm up to begin singing, which is why we don’t hear them on cool mornings or cool rainy days. 

The singing of cicadas and crickets can be heard on warm summer evenings but most likely won't be seen. The snowy tree cricket, also known as the thermometer cricket, can tell you how warm it is (in Fahrenheit) if you count the number of chirps in 12.5 seconds and add 38 (this formula works for crickets west of the Great Plains). 

Like birds, each species has its own “song” but the insects don’t sing using their throats and lungs. Crickets, katydids and cicadas make sounds using specialized parts on their body. 

First day of summer longest but not hottest

The warm, sunny days in early June made the last part of spring feel like summer. Summer technically doesn’t begin until the summer solstice on June 21 but we’ve enjoyed summer-like weather for a few weeks.

The summer solstice marks the day when the sun is at its farthest north position in the sky in the northern hemisphere north of the Tropic of Cancer just as the winter solstice marks the day when the sun is at its lowest position in the sky. On the summer solstice at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude), the sun is directly overhead at its highest point in the sky, such as in the Bahamas. 

Snow still clings to the mountains after the summer solstice but the heat of summer quickly melts it

For many locations the summer solstice isn’t the day with the earliest sunrise or latest sunset due to the tilt of the Earth and the Earth’s elliptical path around the sun. 

Swallows provide valuable insect control

Pesky insects can bother us during gardening, barbecues and other outdoor activities but one bird species makes an impressible dent in the insect population for us--swallows. With some swallows eating 60 insects every hour from dawn to dusk, one swallow can eat more than 720 insects each day! By the end of the week, that is 5,000 fewer insects bothering you. 

Six swallow species take to the skies of North Idaho to feast on flying insects--barn, cliff, tree, violet-green, northern rough-winged and bank swallows. Purple martins are another swallow species but they do not reside in northern Idaho. However, European starlings are often mistaken for purple martins.

Cliff swallows will follow a successful neighbor back to its food source if they can't find food

White wildflowers blooming everywhere

Early spring wildflowers, such as trilliums, are blooming at higher elevations as the snow recedes and the ground warms. At lower elevations summer wildflowers are blooming including several with white flowers. Starry Solomon’s Seal, false Solomon’s Seal, wild sarsaparilla, mariposa and Queen’s cup are some of our white wildflowers in North Idaho.

Starry Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata)

Dense colonies of starry Solomon’s Seal bloom in the partial shade of forests. Alternating leaves growing along the stalk lead up to the creamy white, starry-looking flowers numbering 12 or fewer at the end. The stalk grows between 12 to 24 inches high. After pollination, the round, greenish yellow berries mature into dark blue/reddish black berries.

Starry Solomon's Seal

A boa constrictor in Idaho!

Have you been lucky enough to see Idaho’s only boa constrictor? The rubber boa is smaller than the giant boa constrictor of South America and its secretive nature makes finding one noteworthy. 

Rubber boas are mainly active at night and twilight but females can occasionally be found basking in the sun

A few weeks ago, I saw my first rubber boa which was basking on the Long Canyon trail. Stretched across the trail in a sunny spot, the rubber boa was smaller than I anticipated since I had pictures of the giant boa constrictor in my mind. Rubber boas usually range from 14 to 28 inches long and this one was on the low end at about 14 to 16 inches. 

The rubbery appearance of the boa distinguishes it from the other two snakes that reside in North Idaho, the common garter snake and the western terrestrial garter snake, which have stripes running along their length. The rubber boa is uniformly colored on its backside with colors ranging from tan to brown to olive green. The boa’s underside is yellow to cream and may have black or brown mottling. 

A western terrestrial garter snake has stripes

Loose skin and small, smooth scales lend to the boa’s rubbery appearance and help it resemble a giant brown worm. 

Like a worm, distinguishing the head from the tail can be tricky (unless they are slithering away). The nickname “two headed snake” comes from the rubber boa’s uniformly thick body which tapers to two blunt ends. Their small eyes help keep the mystery of which end is which from a distance--especially for predators.

To protect its head from predators, a rubber boa coils into a ball with its head tucked underneath and its “second head” sticking out. The boa evens jabs its tail about as if striking to deter predators (such as hawks, coyotes, raccoons and skunks) and if that doesn’t work, the boa can release a smelly musk from its vent.

Often a rubber boa bears scars on its tail from predators and defensive rodents. When the rubber boa is raiding a nest of baby rodents, it uses its tail as a club to keep the mother rodent out of the nest as it swallows the nestlings whole. 

Rubber boas also eat adult rodents but will kill them by constriction. As the rubber boa wraps its body around the prey, it squeezes until the prey stops breathing and the heart stops. In addition to rodents, the rubber boa consumes bird eggs, nestling birds, nestling bunnies, small lizards, other snakes, salamanders, small chipmunks and even bats. 

The nocturnal nature of the rubber boa keeps its life secretive though females will bask in the sun in temperatures between 65 to 75 degrees. Pregnant females need the sunshine and warmth for the healthy development of the young born in August. 

Otherwise, rubber boas spend most of their time under logs, rocks, and forest litter or in rodent burrows. Researchers have even determined that rubber boas will rest beneath rocks of a certain thickness in order to thermoregulate more efficiently. 

The secretive nature of rubber boas and their nocturnal nature make seeing a rubber boa a real treat, so count yourself lucky if you see Idaho’s only boa constrictor. 

Hummingbirds feed on more than nectar

As I walked through the yard an unfamiliar buzz came and went that was louder than a bee. I looked around and finally looked up to see a hummingbird diving towards the ground. 

As I watched, the hummingbird climbed high in the sky and then dived towards the ground with a high buzzing sound before pulling up into a climb. The U-shaped aerobatics were repeated several times before the hummingbird rested for a few minutes on the power line. Then the hummingbird began the stunt again. 

Without a close glimpse at the hummingbird, I couldn’t tell the species. But most likely it was a male performing a courtship or territorial defense display since both involve steep climbs followed by rapid dives. The range hummingbirds climb up varies and the Calliope hummingbird will climb 100 to 130 feet before diving.

Hummingbirds, such as this female rufous hummingbird, often make daily rounds between flowers and feeders in a predictable sequence (known as trap-lining).

The Calliope hummingbird is one of three species of hummingbirds found in North Idaho along with the rufous hummingbird and the black-chinned hummingbird. Since hummingbirds can fly up to 60 miles per hour, distinguishing the species in flight isn’t easy. 

However, their ability to hover at flowers and feeders provides a chance to catch a glimpse of their magnificent colors. The males are more colorful than the females though the females aren’t drab. 

Often the easiest way to distinguish the males is by the patch of color on their throat which is called a gorget. 

The male Calliope hummingbird has magenta-red rays against white feathers. The aptly-named black-chinned hummingbird is for the males who have a velvety black upper throat and a violet iridescence on their lower throat. The male rufous hummingbird has a bright, iridescent orange-red gorget.

Rufous hummingbirds are also easy to distinguish from the Calliope and black-chinned hummingbirds because they are tinged with a rufous color (red-brown). The male has red-brown on his back, sides and top of tail while the female has rufous on her sides and top of tail. 

Both the male and female black-chinned hummingbird can be distinguished by the white spot behind their eye. 

While the best spot to watch hummingbirds is at feeders and flowers as they sip nectar, they don’t exclusively feed on nectar. Hummingbirds supplement their nectar diet with invertebrates, such as fruit flies, mosquitoes, aphids, spiders and caterpillars, to help meet their protein, vitamin and mineral requirements. They catch invertebrates mainly by hawking and gleaning. 

Hawking is when the hummingbird perches on a bare, open twig and scans the area for insects. When it spots a flying insect, the hummingbird quickly flies out and engulfs the unsuspecting insect. 

Gleaning involves a few different techniques. Hummingbirds search the leaves at the tips of branches for tiny moth caterpillars. They also glean by poaching arthropods trapped in spider webs and stuck in the sap of sapsucker wells. 

The rufous hummingbird also “leaf-rolls” for insects. By hovering over the forest floor, the rufous hummingbird will disturb the leaves enough so they roll over. Then it can scan the underside of the turned leaves for arthropods and their eggs. 

Hummingbirds also pick insects and their eggs from cracks and crevices of bark like nuthatches and brown creepers. However, hummingbirds will move about the tree by flying instead of walking because with their flight capability (and weak legs) it is easier for them to fly than walk. 

With the unique figure-eight motion of their wings in flight, hummingbirds can fly forward, backwards, sideways, up, down, upside down and can hover to feed and perform spectacular aerobatic displays.

Calf survival dependent on hiding or following

On wobbly legs, newborn deer, moose and elk are a precious sight to us but a tasty sight for predators such as wolves, bears and coyotes. Females will soon be giving birth to calves they have carried all winter and the newborns each have strategies to keep themselves safe from predators. 

White-tailed fawn hiding in tall grass

The white spots dotting a white-tailed fawn’s back are one way the fawn stays safe. The spots help the fawn blend into the dappled light of forests and thickets where it remains motionless waiting for its mother. 

Fawns retain their white spots throughout their first summer

Before the fawn is even born, the doe retreats to a fawning territory to be safer from predators. White-tailed does seek dense cover while mule deer does seek high, rough and steep ground. 

After the fawn is born, the doe licks the newborn and cleans the birth area (including eating the placenta) to hide evidence of the birth from predators. By eating the placenta, the doe also recaptures nutrients. Fawns remain scentless the first few days by frequent grooming from the mother who also eats their feces and urine. 

For the next few weeks, fawns rely on hiding to stay safe from predators. If an intruder is near, their heart rate and breathing slow down to help them remain undetected. Twins even hide separately to reduce the chance both will be found by predators. 

Elk calves also rely on hiding to stay safe from predators. Before the calf is born, the cow elk retreats to a wooded area for birth. The cow licks the calf and eats the afterbirth like deer. The cow also eat the urine and feces for the first few days to minimize scent and flies. 

Cow elk don’t remain away from the herd for long--they will often return to the herd almost immediately during the day while the calf stays hidden at the birth site. At first, a cow returns as often as every 20 minutes to nurse the calf. Like fawns, elk calves are cryptically colored, give off little scent and remain motionless when hiding. After two weeks, the calves join the herd and flee with the cows when threatened. 

Moose calves follow their mother everywhere

Unlike deer and elk calves which are “hiders”, moose calves are “followers”. Within a few hours of birth, the moose calf is standing and stays next to its mother. For nursing, the mother may lie down which is unique to moose and caribou in the deer family.

Like deer, cow moose retreat to a secluded area to give birth which tends to be in dense cover or at high elevations. The area usually has good forage to nourish the mother during lactation because the average newborn calf weighs 35 pounds at birth and gains two to four pounds per day. By the time the calves are weaned in the fall, they weigh 260 to 330 pounds. 

Surviving to autumn hinges on the moose calf staying close to mother. The calf stays close to its mother’s heels and if threatened, hides behind her and her defensive actions.

Moose calves stay close to their mother for protection

The threat of predators is high for newborn deer, moose and elk. Nearly 30 percent of mule deer fawns don’t survive to their first autumn and 75 percent don’t survive to the next spring. Some calves do beat the odds and live on to reproduce the next generation of calves which will face the same challenges of survival.