You may remember in an earlier post (“Little Lost Sheep”, Jan 31/2011) we posted a picture of Cutlet with a nasty looking gash on her left front leg. We weren’t sure at the time if this would be problematic or not, but we’re happy to report that several months later, her wound has completely healed and all that’s left is a slight scar. We’re not sure what caused the injury in teh first place, but we’re glad she’s feeling better now.
You can just see the faint outline of the scar on Cutlet’s shoulder in the image below – it looks like the letter Y on its side.
Cutlet, looking well 'healed'
Cutlet and her sister, Cupcake, are full of beans and prance around like little princesses. They seem to be doing quite well! They have a ridiculous habit of squeezing tightly together when eating from the feeder, even if they’re the only ones there. They look like a two-headed Siamese deer!
So how did our favourite deer get his name?
Well, around November of 2010, Grapefruit started manifesting a ‘tumour’ of sorts. At the time, we were very concerned, and we tried to figure out what it was. The general consensus was that it could be a fatty growth or an abcess from a cut or bit of branch lodged under the skin, etc. The lump was round and hung off his chest. It was about the size of a grapefruit and so the name was coined!
How Grapefruit got his name
We found another posting of a similar occurrence on a photography forum: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/669181
I contacted the poster and he told me the following:
Hi Ken. I was told it was a fatty tumor-like growth and not life threatening. My post is old and Bucky has thrived and is a nice 8 point buck now. The lump has disappeared.
Bill
Perhaps this is a common affliction for juevnile bucks, or deer in general. Fortunately for Grapefruit, his lump has also disappeared now and he is doing very well, although the name has stuck.
For the past month, the deer have all been gathering as a herd. Routinely we have been getting 14 or more deer at the feeder at once. It makes for an amazing spectacle, often happening around dinner time.
Most of the White Tail Creek herd
It’s so amazing to get to see them all at once! They’re a big hit when we have company over.
One morning we woke to a gentle snowfall drifting past the windows, so we got up to have a look to see how much had fallen. Imagine our surprise (and delight) when we found three deer lying in the trees just a stone’s throw away from our bedroom window.
Through the window
At first, the other two deer in the woods were hard to make out; they are really only visible as patches of dark amongst the branches.
Naptime
What a peaceful feeling, knowing that these beautiful creatures were sleeping just feet away from us at night!
Two young bucks at the feeder
Last August, we were visited by two young bucks. They only showed up once, and we never saw them again.
Today, an older buck showed up with two younger ones in tow. Could these be the two young bucks coming back – a little more mature looking?
Familiar Faces?
Just going by headshape (note the long, flat bridge of the nose), the buck on the right in the above photo does look similar to the young buck in front on the original picture, and the buck to the left bears resemblance to the young buck in behind (note the similar tight, triangle-shaped forehead).
It’s hard to say for sure. The two younger bucks were definitely submissive to the larger one. He kicked at them if they got too close while he was feeding, but generally tolerated them. They all travelled together and there were none of the crazy fights that we’ve seen between rival bucks. The two young bucks were very comfortable eating together and touched noses a few times without undue aggression, perhaps this is because they were littermates?
Buck looking out from the cherry trees
I can’t wait to see all these bucks in antler next fall – this makes at least 5 and probably 6 or 7 antlered bucks that regularly pass through our feeding station.
With the weather being so cold, there are a lot more deer finding their way to our feeder. Our usual two family groups are still coming, but so are a lot of new individuals. This can lead to some interesting behaviour around the feeder as the different groups vie for position.
Scuffle at the Feeder
There’s very rarely any real violence, usually it’s just a tap on someone’s back. This following group spent several minutes chasing each other around the feeder in what looked like a game of ‘ring around the rosy’!
Three deer playing "Ring Around the Rosy"
Sometimes though, after all the jostling is over, they all just settle down and eat together…
A crowded feeder!
Quite often the deer arrive in the morning, eat at the feeder (or wait subbornly until it’s filled and then eat), and then be on their way to the next location.
A doe washes her yearling after a trip to the feeder.
Today they decided to hang around in the woods and play all day. It was like one of those ‘hidden pictures’ where you had to guess how many deer there were. They kept moving in and out of the trees, so that at times it seemed like the whole forest was moving. At one point there were as many as 9 deer wandering amongst the trees.
How many deer can you see?
Sometimes being a deer is pretty rough. We have had two little orphans at the feeder for the past few days. It’s uncertain whether these are the two yearling does who, with their mother, made up our second resident ‘family’ or not, what is certain is that they are now without a mother.
This yearling has a nasty cut on her shoulder
We don’t know what happened to the doe. We’ve had a few losses this month – there was a coyote kill site on the property behind ours, and hunters were spotted in the area a few days ago. Given that these two have only started showing up on their own in the past day or so, I’m leaning towards hunters being the reason for their orphanage.
The two Orphans at the feeder
One of the yearlings has a cut on her left front shoulder. It was very fresh two days ago, but is looking better today. The yearlings look so cute and fluffy at this time of year – they almost look like little donkeys 
Hopefully these two will be able to keep each other out of trouble until they get a little older.
Fighter and One-Antler tussling at the feeder
Fighter and One-Antler have had a few run-ins this winter. The most spectacular was a head-to-head clash, when One-Antler had his full rack, but this fist-fighting was pretty impressive too. Fighter is the darker one on the left of the photo, and One-Antler is the sleeker one on the right. One-Antler eventually got the upper hand in this tussle and Fighter made his way resignedly up the hill.
One-Antler gets the upper hand
The Victorious One-Antler chases his foe away
There has been a lot of bullying at the feeder this week, as the various family groups come into contact with each other. We had nine does and yearlings out at the same time the other day, there was all kinds of posturing at the feeder. Mom, Grapefruit and Auntie started off feeding, with Mom defending it from the oncomers, but when they were done the others moved in and the pushing and shoving really began.
Mom, Auntie & Grapefruit at the feeder
There is one other buck who is sometimes seen, and he is huge – the biggest deer I have even seen. We call him Moose, but we have not managed to get a photo of him yet. – we’ll keep on the lookout!
Doe Among the Cherry Trees
The sun was shining beautifully this morning as the deer congregated at the feeder. The first to arrive was a single doe, then Fighter the buck came to join in. A little ‘dancing’ at the feeder saw the female step back and let him eat.
Grapefruit and Mom were next, arriving from the woods, and pretty soon there was a lot of jostling around the feeder.
