The California donkey deer ( Odocoileus hemionus californicus ) is a donkey deer subspecies that covers most of the state of California.
Video California mule deer
Anatomi
One of the main means to distinguish the closely-tailed black-tailed deer and the white-tailed deer is the growing habit of bird horns. In the case of California deer, deer antlers grow upward, while other species' horns grow forward.
Maps California mule deer
Distribution
This subspecies, O. h. californicus , is widespread throughout northern California and central California's coastal meadows, as well as inland interior and interior mountain ranges, notably the Sierra Nevada. These deer are much less commonly found on the floor of the interior valleys, and then most often in riparian zones.
Habitat
Generally, California california deer have a preference for hill terrain, especially oak forest habitats. It is a browser and usually takes up more than 90% of its food from shrubs and leaves and the balance of grass.
Diet and behavior
California donkeys usually travel close to the lake or river providing their water. From the water source, they can roam about 1-2 mi, and usually make their beds in grassy areas under trees within a mile radius of water and forage.
Repeatedly using the bed is often scratched onto a nearly flat surface, about 2 m in diameter. The less regular bed area used is seen as a flattened grass. In the summer days, California deer often seek shade and rest in the middle of the day.
In summer, california deer mainly trace the leaves of small trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, but also consume many types of berries (including blackberries, huckleberry, salal, and thimbleberry). In winter, they can expand their feed for conifers (especially Douglas fir twigs), aspen, willow, dogwood, juniper, and sage. Throughout the year, they eat whole grains; grass is a secondary food source. Where humans have penetrated historic deer habitat with suburban or fruit plant development, California donkey deer make variations of their diet with gardening, tree-fruit, and sometimes pet food.
Bird Fawns and tend to find meals together in family groups, while bucks tend to travel alone or with other money. California deer donkeys roam most active near dawn and dusk, but also foraging at night in open farming areas or when experiencing hunting pressures.
Breeding
The Rutting season occurs in the fall when the dry season arrives in several periods lasting only a few days. Males show aggressive behavior in competing for couples. Do start estrus again if they do not become pregnant. The period of pregnancy is about 200 days, with the dawn coming in the spring; the young remain with mothers throughout the summer and weaned in the fall. Its horns fall in the winter, and start growing again in the spring to anticipate the fall habits.
Human interaction
Since prehistoric times, Indigenous Native Americans of California are known to hunt California deer. Thus, since about 12,000 BC, Gage points out that the human population has functioned as a control against the number of California california deer.
In the modern era, since European colonists and Euro-Americans settled in California, hunting pressure increased as human populations expanded and hunting into activities that were not only related to food supplies. In addition, the growth of human populations (through urban development) in California has consumed a large number of the California donkey's deer's natural habitats that began in the late 19th century and continues to the present day.
See also
- wild-tailed deer
- Sitka deer ( Odocoileus hemionus subsp. sitkensis )
- California chaparral and forest
- Bovid - Bovidae family
References
External links
- US. Treatment of Forest Services - Odocoileus hemionus (Moose deer) - including subspecies californicus
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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