The Dear

Deer are members of the order Artiodactyle, which means that they have hoofs with an even number of toes. Deer can be found around the world. They are native to all continents except for Australia and Antarctica. There are about 100 types of deer, including the whitetail deer, reindeer, elk, moose, mule deer, blacktail deer and caribou. Male deer are called bucks, bulls, stags or harts. Female deer are called does, cows or hinds. Young deer are called fawns or calfs. Deer can adapt well to just about any habitat. They prefer to live in "edge" habitats. Edges are human-made or natural habitat breaks, for instance from woods to croplands. They will use the woodlands for cover and shelter and the open land to graze in. In northern latitudes, deer may live in different areas in the summer and winter months. These areas can be as far as 30 miles apart. Deer are the only animals that have antlers. They are the fastest growing living tissue on earth. Antlers are usually only found on males. In some species, like caribou, you will also find them on females. Moose have the largest antlers. Antlers grow from spring until fall. While growing, antlers are covered with a soft tissue known as velvet. This tissue contains a network of nerves and blood vessels and is very sensitive. In the fall, the velvet is shed and the antlers harden. In the winter, the antlers are shed. Antlers should not be confused with horns. Horns are never shed and continue to grow throughout the animal's life. If they are broken, they won't grow back. Deer have a great sense of hearing. They have a lot of muscles attached to their ears which allow them to turn their ears in any direction, without moving their heads. They can hear higher frequencies of sound than humans. The brown coat of the deer provides great camouflage in the woodlands. By standing still, they can go undetected by a passing predator. Fawns have a reddish-brown color covered with white spots, which help camouflage them and disappear when they are 3-4 months old. In the fall, deer will shed their summer coat and receive a much thicker winter coat. Deer have their eyes on the sides of their head, giving them a 310 degree view. This wide view does make it hard for deer to focus on a single point. Deer have a good night vision, which is useful in the early morning and near dusk. Deer have small teeth in the front of the bottom jaw, which they use for tearing and breaking apart food. They have no teeth in the front of the top jaw. Instead they have a hard palate, which is used in much the same way as teeth. In the back of the mouth deer have molars, canines and incisors, which are used for chewing. Deer are ungulates, which means that they have two-toed hoofs. They have long legs with powerful muscles and are able to run 40 miles per hour and jump 10 feet high. They are also fast swimmers.