Redwood’s Black-Tailed Deer: Beautiful and Smart

Deer are spectacular to behold. There is a certain deer that dwells in Redwoods National Park known as the Colombian black-tailed deer. The Colombian black-tailed deer has a geographic range from British Colombia, which is in southwest Canada, to Santa Barbara County in California. They can also be found in the East Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Columbian black-tailed deer, also known as Black-tailed deer, have large and mule-like ears, a gray face and a charcoal black tail. Changing their coloration, the attractive black-tailed deer’s coat differs from season to season. In summer the deer are reddish-brown to tawny colored. During the winter season, they are gray-brown with black hairs intercepted in the coat, making a dark appearance. Markings you can examine year round on them are their white belly, throat patches, inside the ears, and the underside of the tail. Although the black-tailed deer’s tail is not as bushy as the white-tailed deer’s, black-tailed deer possess longer ears and their tail is black on the top and white on the underside. Learn more about their differences in coloration here.

Columbian black-tailed bucks develop antlers in late spring and summer, when they’re mature, dropping them in late winter after the mating season.

These deer are both grazers and browsers, eating various grasses and forbs (herbaceous flowering plants). These deer are naturally active in the morning, evening, and even periodically during the night.

Surprisingly, black-tailed deer are considered, in North America, the most difficult deer to hunt due to several factors, including: the deer’s preference for dense habitat; their high level of sense of hearing and smell; and their tendency to turn nocturnal under hunting pressures. Clearly these deer are smart.

In conclusion, it is evident that the Colombian black-tailed deer, residing in Redwoods National Park, are diverse in coat color, and are quite intelligent during the hunting season. These deer are worth respecting.