#dailylifeofdeer
We know, we have SO many deer here at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve! Some of you may be getting a little sick of classifying these inquisitive animals, especially when they're found just walking through the frame, nose to the ground in search of food. Even though this behavior is helpful to our researchers, it's not the most interesting thing to see after classifying for awhile.
Deers do so much more besides eat, which our camera traps also capture. We are so glad that citizen scientists highlighted so many behaviors on our talk boards. Did you see the special moments showcased in our previous blog post? We have been loving all of the fawns in Season 2, but here are some other awesome behaviors found by our awesome volunteers.
Found by: StreamGrl
Itch
We all get a little itchy sometimes, although deer look a little funnier while itching than we do. These deer were caught right in the act. Or maybe they're doing yoga?
Found by: john7994
Found by: Moderator emmabublitz
Sticking Tongue Out
Found by: lclough
Found by: smansfield
Found by: justria
Mouth Open
Again, why are they doing this? Who knows! They look they have something they'd like to say to the world. We welcome your caption ideas!
Found by: smansfield
Found by: khawley
#Camerastare
Aren't deer the best at taking selfies? On the discussion boards, this behavior was appropriately named a #camerastare. Deer are so curious about our camera traps. For what it's worth, there is no bait at any of our camera sites. The deer really are just that interested in what's going on!
Found by: Katovan
Found by: Stephaniejohnson
Flying Deer
Of course, we could not forget about our flying deer, which were termed reindeer during the holidays. Although the deer weren't actually flying, our camera traps are so speedy that they were able to catch the deer mid-flight. How awesome are these?
Found by: Chompski
Found by: Joy E. Hecht
Found by: Zambo
Private Moments
Who would've thought that we'd catch deer doing these behaviors? We're so glad that we did! We don't emphasize that this project captures the secret lives of the animals of Cedar Creek for nothing.
Here's a deer taking a potty break...
Found by: billr1313
...and some more deer performing nature at it's finest! This is how we get those adorable fawns.
Found by: winthrop_grin
Once those fawns are born, they have to get sustenance from somewhere - and you'd better believe our cameras are on hand to capture those moments too!
Found by: papa-j
Once those fawns are born, they have to get sustenance from somewhere - and you'd better believe our cameras are on hand to capture those moments too!
Cotortionists
Do you ever look at a picture and say, "what is that deer doing?" Us too!! Check out these images of deer in positions we didn't even know they could get themselves into.
Apparently the branches were a little too dense to go through, so this deer decided to go under them-even if it meant making its back end almost flat!
Found by: smansfield
What do you think, back legs stuck in the snow? Rub-urination? We think it looks like this deer is getting its late afternoon stretch in using this tree. Ahhhhh.
Found by: Jolanda49
Aren't deer hilarious? When they're doing things like they are above, it's hard to get bored of them. Happy classifying!
Mouth open = flehmen response?
ReplyDeleteThey do have a vomeronasal organ and they do use it in chemical communication! That's likely the explanation for that open mouth facial expression made by bucks during the rut. We see it across seasons and sexes in our pictures though, so my guess is that sometimes it's the camera catching the deer in the midst of a yawn or vocalization, in addition to the pics of the flehmen response. There are other cervid species where you see the VNO in use between females coordinating synchronous estrous cycles, and in does responding to the afterbirth of a newborn fawn. It's neat to try and sort out that sort of behavior from vocalizations in these still photos!
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