A short life to live
The first thing I remember seeing was my mother standing in front me, feeling the soft blades of grass beneath me, and smelling the sweet scent of the flowers carried by the breeze. New to the world, without a single drop of knowledge, it was time to live my life. I was born a soft brown color and white spots covered my back, I had long gangly legs and ears that felt too big for my head. I looked different from my mother, who is more of a brown red with white under her tail, chest, and head. I was also not as graceful as she was, as I chased after her, I stumbled over my own hooves; eventually I laid down in the bushes as she went to forage for food. It is a while before she returns and then I am fed myself.
Mother taught me everything I know about the world and she learned from her mother, as we pass down our knowledge from each generation to the next. She told me to avoid poppies, foxglove, and daffodils because they can make us very sick; I mostly like to eat honeysuckle, grass, and soybeans anyway (Parr, 2007). I can find honeysuckle almost everywhere I go, but my favorite is this spot deep in the woods where the sun peaks through the trees and a quiet stream runs nearby. Mother doesn’t like me to go here alone, especially when it starts to get cold outside because bad things can happen then.
Typically, I am never alone, aside from my mother, we are always with the herd. It’s mostly other does and their fawns like me, with the occasional buck coming around. The bucks have huge antlers that sit on their heads, they are small and fuzzy at first but then they grow bigger and become much stronger, and not fuzzy anymore. Mother tells me that they are there to make them look more attractive and to help them fight to protect us (The Forest Preserve District of Will County, 2019). I will not have antlers because I am a doe, but that also means that I will always have the herd with me. The herd I will travel with will be other does and fawns, the herd the bucks travel with are other bucks. They do this so there are many bucks to protect the herd of does and their fawns. Despite the herd serving as my protection, I still like to be alone sometimes, especially as I get older.
I don’t like to disobey mother, but she is always at my side telling me what to do, at least she has been for the first year of my life. I enjoy my freedoms, running where and when I want, especially in the summer feeling the sun on my face and the breeze through my ears. When I am in my spot in the woods, I like to listen to the brown birds above as they call to each other. I can hear many of them from far away as I have excellent hearing and I also watch them as they fly above me through the trees. I try to follow them, but they do not have obstacles like I do so I lose track of them. They are free to go where they want, soaring above the trees for miles, I watch them for hours. I watch them for so long, I do not notice the sun disappear below the horizon in the distance. Suddenly I hear something from deep in the woods, it’s a sound unrecognizable to me, I am frozen.
Looking through the trees I make out a creature, it is low to the ground with glowing yellow eyes, big ears, and thin legs moving very slow. I have very good vision when the sun goes down and I see the eyes move towards me, still very slow and since I am frozen, I cannot tell if it knows I have spotted it. There is rustling in the trees and the yellow eyes freeze in their place, as I sense something behind me. It is my mother who had been looking for me all day since I had separated from her, she sensed the presence of the yellow eyed creature. We communicated without sound; she stomped her hoof into the ground- run. I was running through those woods so fast that it felt like my legs couldn’t keep up with my body when my mother, slightly in front of me, stops. We came to a rock wall, too high to jump, there was no way out but back the way we came, past the yellow eyes. My mother ran back, but I was frozen again as I waited for her return, then I heard the sound- like a groaning or bawl (Carroll, 2020). I run towards the sound, hearing my heartbeat in my ears, the air snorting through my nose, hooves stomping on the ground. I come to a halt after running what feels like a long time to find my mother, lifeless, under the stars. Lost and unsure of what to do, I stay by her side the rest of the night bleating as if she could call back to me (Wildlife Center of Virginia, 2020).
Typically, I am never alone, aside from my mother, we are always with the herd. It’s mostly other does and their fawns like me, with the occasional buck coming around. The bucks have huge antlers that sit on their heads, they are small and fuzzy at first but then they grow bigger and become much stronger, and not fuzzy anymore. Mother tells me that they are there to make them look more attractive and to help them fight to protect us (The Forest Preserve District of Will County, 2019). I will not have antlers because I am a doe, but that also means that I will always have the herd with me. The herd I will travel with will be other does and fawns, the herd the bucks travel with are other bucks. They do this so there are many bucks to protect the herd of does and their fawns. Despite the herd serving as my protection, I still like to be alone sometimes, especially as I get older.
I don’t like to disobey mother, but she is always at my side telling me what to do, at least she has been for the first year of my life. I enjoy my freedoms, running where and when I want, especially in the summer feeling the sun on my face and the breeze through my ears. When I am in my spot in the woods, I like to listen to the brown birds above as they call to each other. I can hear many of them from far away as I have excellent hearing and I also watch them as they fly above me through the trees. I try to follow them, but they do not have obstacles like I do so I lose track of them. They are free to go where they want, soaring above the trees for miles, I watch them for hours. I watch them for so long, I do not notice the sun disappear below the horizon in the distance. Suddenly I hear something from deep in the woods, it’s a sound unrecognizable to me, I am frozen.
Looking through the trees I make out a creature, it is low to the ground with glowing yellow eyes, big ears, and thin legs moving very slow. I have very good vision when the sun goes down and I see the eyes move towards me, still very slow and since I am frozen, I cannot tell if it knows I have spotted it. There is rustling in the trees and the yellow eyes freeze in their place, as I sense something behind me. It is my mother who had been looking for me all day since I had separated from her, she sensed the presence of the yellow eyed creature. We communicated without sound; she stomped her hoof into the ground- run. I was running through those woods so fast that it felt like my legs couldn’t keep up with my body when my mother, slightly in front of me, stops. We came to a rock wall, too high to jump, there was no way out but back the way we came, past the yellow eyes. My mother ran back, but I was frozen again as I waited for her return, then I heard the sound- like a groaning or bawl (Carroll, 2020). I run towards the sound, hearing my heartbeat in my ears, the air snorting through my nose, hooves stomping on the ground. I come to a halt after running what feels like a long time to find my mother, lifeless, under the stars. Lost and unsure of what to do, I stay by her side the rest of the night bleating as if she could call back to me (Wildlife Center of Virginia, 2020).
Morning comes and without a clue as to where my herd is, I am officially alone in the world. Mother always ensured me that I would be with her until I was at least two, but here I am just a few months shy and she is gone. Fortunately for me, I remember everything she taught me, and I can forage for food and try to stay away from predators. I spend my time foraging, sleeping, and walking- though not too far all at once. It is starting to get colder out now, and the leaves are turning colors, their once bright greens becoming deep reds, bright yellows, and robust oranges. With the change in season comes a slight change in diet for me and I start to eat more acorns, apples, and wheat as they are available (Kroll, 2015). I am not the only one who has a change in diet or lifestyle as we enter fall. The birds I liked to listen to are slowly disappearing and with them their songs; they fly south for the upcoming winter. As time passes and it gets even colder, I see less and less animals traveling through the woods with me, they are hibernating. I start to feel even more alone in the vast woods, with naked trees for miles and only the occasional evergreen to fill the bleak land with color.
I have started to grow thicker fur as the first snow falls through the woods, this keeps me warm against the cold harsh winds (The Forest Preserve District of Will County, 2019). I have been on my own for a while now, though it feels like a lifetime. Each day I journey a little bit farther from where I was, pushing onward so that I may find a new herd to join. I do not want to be on my own much longer and I could use the protection provided by them. The woods have become a white sheet speckled with brown lines, bleak and empty, though I can hear so many sounds around me. One particular sound piques my interest and I listen closer. I try to block out the wind whistling through the branches and hear bleats in my direction. Following the direction of the sound, it becomes louder and I enter a clearing; in front of me are other does foraging for food. After traveling through the woods for a few miles and weeks, I finally found a new herd to call home.
I have started to grow thicker fur as the first snow falls through the woods, this keeps me warm against the cold harsh winds (The Forest Preserve District of Will County, 2019). I have been on my own for a while now, though it feels like a lifetime. Each day I journey a little bit farther from where I was, pushing onward so that I may find a new herd to join. I do not want to be on my own much longer and I could use the protection provided by them. The woods have become a white sheet speckled with brown lines, bleak and empty, though I can hear so many sounds around me. One particular sound piques my interest and I listen closer. I try to block out the wind whistling through the branches and hear bleats in my direction. Following the direction of the sound, it becomes louder and I enter a clearing; in front of me are other does foraging for food. After traveling through the woods for a few miles and weeks, I finally found a new herd to call home.
As I become integrated into my new herd, the snow begins to melt, and the once bleak and bare forest begins to have new life. The birds I have missed return north, their songs becoming more prevalent each morning. As we enter spring, the trees regain their leaves along with some developing white blossoms. The sweet scent of flowers slowly begins to fill the warming air, reminding me of my first few months of life. Spring is the season of new life and just as the forest is replenished, so is the herd. Many fawns are born during this time, looking just as I did, a soft brown body full of life. They are just as uncoordinated as I once was, I watch them stumble through the clearing, never straying too far from their mothers. One day as I was getting a drink from the stream nearby, I thought I saw my mother, but it was only my reflection in the water below. I wish I could tell the fawns what I had learned too late, to obey their mothers and stay with the herd.
After another year with the herd and mating season with the bucks had passed, I would become a mother myself. Watching the other does, I knew I would be pregnant and vulnerable for half the year, but at least I had them to protect me. I was ready to pass down the information I had learned to my fawn and watch as they lived their life. I would hold them close for two years and then let them go off to start a family of their own, as is the way of life. After a short life lived, and few offspring born, I would die at the hands of the coyotes like my mother had before, completing the cycle.
After another year with the herd and mating season with the bucks had passed, I would become a mother myself. Watching the other does, I knew I would be pregnant and vulnerable for half the year, but at least I had them to protect me. I was ready to pass down the information I had learned to my fawn and watch as they lived their life. I would hold them close for two years and then let them go off to start a family of their own, as is the way of life. After a short life lived, and few offspring born, I would die at the hands of the coyotes like my mother had before, completing the cycle.
Resources Used
Carroll, R. (2020, March 22). What Noise Does A Deer Make? [6+ Deer Sounds Mp3+Video]. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://pickhunting.com/what-noise-does-a-deer-make/
The Forest Preserve District of Will County, A. (2019). Nature Curiosity: How Do Antlers Grow So Fast? Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-how-do-antlers-grow-so-fast
The Forest Preserve District of Will County, A. (2019). Nature Curiosity: How Do Deer Stay Warm in Winter? Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-how-do-deer-stay-warm-in-winter
Kroll, D. (2015, November 03). What Do Deer Eat? Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/editorial/whitetail-101-what-do-deer-eat/262416
Parr, J. (2007). The White-Tailed Deer. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/parr_jaco/nutrition.htm
Wildlife Center of Virginia, A. (2020). Baby Deer. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.wildlifecenter.org/baby-deer
Carroll, R. (2020, March 22). What Noise Does A Deer Make? [6+ Deer Sounds Mp3+Video]. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://pickhunting.com/what-noise-does-a-deer-make/
The Forest Preserve District of Will County, A. (2019). Nature Curiosity: How Do Antlers Grow So Fast? Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-how-do-antlers-grow-so-fast
The Forest Preserve District of Will County, A. (2019). Nature Curiosity: How Do Deer Stay Warm in Winter? Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-how-do-deer-stay-warm-in-winter
Kroll, D. (2015, November 03). What Do Deer Eat? Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/editorial/whitetail-101-what-do-deer-eat/262416
Parr, J. (2007). The White-Tailed Deer. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/parr_jaco/nutrition.htm
Wildlife Center of Virginia, A. (2020). Baby Deer. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.wildlifecenter.org/baby-deer