New Year Babies: Coues White Tailed Deer

Continuing with our series on babies in the wild, we come to the Coues White Tailed Deer. 

I took these photos in the Chiricahua Mountains near South Fork of Cave Creek. It was during the monsoons and just after the Monument Fire. The animals that survived the fire were disoriented and displaced by all of the flooding and lack of food (vegetation). Normally, babies would stay hidden deep in the woods for at least four weeks after birth. Here two young Coues White Tailed fawns were crossing the road with their mom. At first (from a distance) I thought they were Jackrabbits. Then I realized they were too small to be Jackrabbits. It wasn't until I got much closer I realized they were deer. I showed my photos to a Park Ranger who had been in the Chiricahua's for many years and had never seen a fawn that small. 

Just for a perspective, this baby is about to go under a guard rail that is only 10 inches high.

Looking back at me

Curious

Baby with Mom

Coues White Tailed Deer -- II

One last photo of the Coues White Tailed Deer, this time a doe with her fawn. The fawn a little older than the one in yesterday's post. This was also taken in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona.

Coues White Tailed Deer

Coues White Tailed Deer

Continuing with my "5" Star Photos we come to the Coues White Tailed Deer. 

I was driving along Forest Road 42 in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeast Arizona and saw what first looked like a Jackrabbit in the middle of the road. As I got closer I realized that it was too small to be a Jackrabbit. As I got still closer I realized in was a Deer! Now, I know you ask, are you serious? A deer smaller than a Jackrabbit? No, this is not one of those Texas jokes. It was a Coues (pronounced cows) White Tailed Deer. The Coues White Tails are smaller than the White Tailed Deers that you see all over the US. The Coues (named after Elliott Coues, 1842-1899) are only found in southern Arizona. An adult White Tail Buck will weigh 200 pounds. An adult Coues White Tail Buck will weigh only 80-90 pounds. Fawns weigh 4 to 6 pounds when they are born.

 In the first photo (which is my "5" Star Photo) you see he is looking back at me after going down into the creek below the road. The second photo I have added just to give you a perspective of how small this fawn really was. The bottom of the guard rail is no more than 12 to 15 inches off the ground. The fawn easily walked under the guard rail without ducking. After showing the photo to one of the Rangers, he said he had never seen one that small. And, that it couldn't be more than a few days old. 

Coues White Tailed Deer

Coues White Tailed Deer

Pairs of Two: Four

Sometimes pairs are mom and baby like yesterday's Bighorn Sheep. Today, it's Bobcats and Coues White Tailed Deer:

Female Bobcat with Kitten (on our roof)

Female Coues White Tail Deer with Fawn (Chiricahua Mountains)

Chiricahua Mountains - no bears, but ....

Well, I was hoping to find a Black Bear or two, and I surely gave it a good try. I looked everywhere I had seen them before, plus a couple of new spots. Explored both Rustler Park and Barfoot Park atop the Chiricahuas.  But, I came up empty. Although, I did get a couple of Coues White Tailed Deer photos during my hike on the South Fork Cave Creek Trail. And I got a fun photo of a Mexican Gray Squirrel (that, other than Mexico,  is only found in the Chiricahuas).

Coues White Tailed Deer 

Coues White Tailed Deer  -- Young Buck

Mexican Gray Squirrel

More Babies

The increase in the Deer population throughout North America, among other things, means more frequent sightings of young fawns. I wrote in September about the newborn Coues White Tail Deer I came across in the Chiricahua Mountains. This little guy I mistook for a Jackrabbit at first  -- until I realized he was too small to be a Jackrabbit. He wasn't much bigger than a house cat. The Mule Deer photo was taken in Yellowstone Park and the White Tail Deer photo was taken in Glacier National Park.  In all three cases there were two fawns with their mother.

Coues White Tail Deer Fawn

Mule Deer

White Tail Deer

Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve

Christine and I got away yesterday for a picnic by the Butterfly Garden in Patagonia and then a nice leisurely 3 mile hike through the Preserve.  As often the case, the Coues (pronouced "cows" after Elliott Coues, 1942-1899, army surgeon, historian, and ornithologist), white tail deer were around and available for photographing. This pair was standing in Patagonia Creek:

More from the Chiricahua's: Coues White Tailed Deer

Just after finding the Black Bear, I came across a Coues (pronounced "cows") White Tailed Doe with her Fawn. The Coues is the smallest deer in America and only resides in Southern Arizona.  In the first photo you can tell how small the fawn is (although I saw a smaller one a month ago in this same vicinity).

Chiricahua Mountains

Just back from three days in the Chiricahuas. WOW!! There is so much to talk about. The fire, the flood, and the wildlife. I am going to start with a fun little wildlife story today:

I was driving along Forest Road 42 and saw what first looked like a Jackrabbit in the middle of the road. As I got closer I realized that it was too small to be a Jackrabbit. As I got still closer I realized in was a Deer! Now, I know you ask, are you serious? A deer smaller than a Jackrabbit? No, this is not one of those Texas jokes. It was a Coues (pronounced cows) White Tailed Deer. The Coues White Tails are smaller than the White Tailed Deers you see all over the US. The Coues (named after Elliott Coues, 1842-1899) are only found in southern Arizona. An adult White Tail Buck will weigh 200 pounds. An adult Coues White Tail Buck will weigh only 80-90 pounds. Fawns weigh 4 to 6 pounds when they are born. The deer on the road was a fawn. Here is the first photo:

The guard rail is about 15 inches off the ground. The fawn easily went right under the guard rail.

A close up of the Coues Fawn

Mother and twins went under the bridge and up the South Fork of Cave Creek.

Mother and twins just getting out of the creek.

Close up of the twins

Remember you can click on a photo to see it enlarged.

Patagonia Creek Preserve

The Arizona Wildfires are now out. Several days of monsoons have finished the process that 4000 firefighters had been working on since early May. In all, the three wildfires burned 1,250 square miles (about one million acres).

Most of the National Forest Service land is still closed, but should start opening up this month. In the meantime, looking for wildlife photo opportunities is restricted to private lands and public city parks. (Hence the Brown Pelican and Black Crown Night Herons at Lakeside Park here in Tucson).

But, Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve, owned by the Nature Conservancy has been opened. So, a little trip there was rewarded with a Coues White Tailed Deer. The Coues (pronounced "cows") is a small subspecies of White Tailed Deer found only in Southeastern Arizona, Southwestern New Mexico, and Mexico). It is a very elusive deer -- a big prize for hunters. Since I only shoot with a camera, maybe they are more curious than afraid. Anyway, I always feel fortunate to spend a few moments with any large mammal.

Coues White Tailed Deer

More from Patagonia

Often while hiking through Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve we come across deer -- usually Coues Whitetail Deer (a subspecies of the White Tail Deer). The Coues is pronounced "cows" named after the ornithologist and surgeon Elliot Coues, whose book "Fur-Bearing Animals" 1877 was (is) a classic on the identification and description of mammals. As we were hiking this time, we saw a Coues down by the Creek. Once she saw us she headed up the embankment on the other side. I suspected that she would return and positioned myself further down the creek. She not only came back to the creek but started following the creek toward me. Finally at about 25 feet she noticed me. After a minute or so of staring at each other she decided to walk the other direction -- still in the creek.

Female Coues White Tail Deer

On the way back from Patagonia, we go through the Wine Country town of Sonoita. Fields of grass surround Sonoita and make for wonderful Pronghorn terrain. Although more apt to see Pronghorn early or late in the day, six were very near the road mid-afternoon, a very pleasant surprise. Here are a pair of bucks:

Pronghorn males