Deer at Dinner Island Ranch WMA

"White Tail Deer at Dinner Island Ranch"

 

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY – DINNER ISLAND RANCH WMA, FL

 

This wildlife photo was taken in the Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Florida off of CR 833. It is of a juvenile white-tail deer. The camera used in this photo was a Nikon D90 body attached to a Tamron 28-300mm lens.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus),  the smallest members of the North American deer family, are found from southern Canada to South America. In the heat of summer they typically inhabit fields and meadows using clumps of broad-leaved and coniferous forests for shade. During the winter they generally keep to forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements.

Adult white-tails have reddish-brown coats in summer which fade to a duller grayish-brown in winter. Male deer, called bucks, are easily recognizable in the summer and fall by their prominent set of antlers, which are grown annually and fall off in the winter. Only the bucks grow antlers, which bear a number of tines, or sharp points. During the mating season, also called the rut, bucks fight over territory by using their antlers in sparring matches.

White-tailed deer are herbivores, leisurely grazing on most available plant foods. Their stomachs allow them to digest a varied diet, including leaves, twigs, fruits and nuts, grass, corn, alfalfa, and even lichens and other fungi. Occasionally venturing out in the daylight hours, white-tailed deer are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular, browsing mainly at dawn and dusk.

In the wild, white-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound.

 

 

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    5 Thoughts to “Deer at Dinner Island Ranch WMA”

    1. DonnaW56

      Love your photography

    2. KenF23

      Fantastic photograph. I enjoy seeing photos of deer! Good work.

    3. Dr. Eckard Ritter (@touristinfo)

      RT @Photobug52 (Alan S Hochman Photo) #wildlife Deer at Dinner Island Ranch http://t.co/4CHPJVFH #deer #white-tailed… http://t.co/OVjCBuoJ

    4. Robert Nacke

      Alan great picture ,it looks great ,it truly shines beauty of life in it 🙂

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    Alan S Hochman Photography