A Scarred deer doesn't know its ugly

A beautiful coyote sat on a rise above the arena and watched me feed the horses this morning. At the same time, ten deer below the arena were watching the coyote. I was watching both deer and coyote.

At least two distinct deer families pass through my place almost daily. They are easy to recognize because at one time in their lives the local game department put tags in their ears. One doe wears red, another green and still another black. The red and green does with their fawns are always together, watch each others fawns and peacefully graze together but they don't get along with the black tagged doe and her family, which includes does, fawns and a couple of bucks. Sometimes the does strike at each other with their front legs and chase non family fawns away.

Another family group is led by a doe easy to recognize because of the scars on her face.  It occured to me that she doesn't even know that she's ugly - bucks mate with her, she raises fawns every year and enjoys as good a quality of life as any of the beautiful does -  I wonder if it would be a better world if humans couldn't tell if they were ugly or beautiful. At least life would be more equal.

Of course with their antlers, bucks rule - but usually benevolently.  The largest buck with 9-point antlers shares grazing space with fawns and tenderly licks them - which reminds me of Bambi, an orphaned fawn I took care of when I operated a wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary in Oregon many years ago.  After he was turned free on 150 acres Bambi, who grew into a beautiful 6-point buck continued to visit and when we had other orphaned fawns, it was Bambi who took them under his wing - teaching them to be wild deer.

Once after being gone for two weeks, when Bambi came to visit he had a broken hind leg. A veternarian put a cast on the leg and we kept Bambi confined for a few weeks - - by the time the cast was removed from Bambi's leg, he had bonded with orphaned fawns, Prince and Baron.

The wild deer who regularly visit my yard bring back memories of Bambi, Prince, Baron and all the other wildlife, including foxes, raccoons, hawks, owls, and even a bear cub I helped care for.  At this point in my life I'm relieved to only have two cats, two dogs and two horses to take care of but my former wildlife patients live on in my heart.