Why Do I Have Spots?
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Why do baby deer and elk have spots?
This last spring we once again got to enjoy the annual ritual of deer having their babies behind our house. Something about the irrigated agricultural fields combined with the lack of human traffic seems to make this an ideal spot for several white-tailed does to give birth and raise their young. From late May through early June we were treated to the regular appearance of moms bringing their tiny charges into our back yard and “parking” them while they went out into the field to graze on the fresh hay and alfalfa growing behind the house.
Picture #1 - White-tailed fawn who was "Parked" right by our back porch in 2023.
Baby deer (called fawns) along with baby elk (called calves) are born with a coat that is covered in white spots, which tends to disappear by early fall. In addition to making them look exceedingly cute, these spots serve an essential function in keeping them alive during their first few days and weeks of life. There are many predators that would happily dine on baby deer and elk because they are much easier to run down than the adults. Like many baby animals, young deer and elk need to spend a lot of time napping while they convert their mothers milk into strong muscles and bones. Given that most of the time mothers seek out areas with lots of thick vegetation to give birth, these babies do a lot of napping in shady areas often sprinkled with dappled spots of sunlight. The art of camouflage is generally one of using different colors and irregular shapes to break up ones silhouette and blend in with the background. When you consider ground that is typically some shade of brown, sprinkled with brighter spots of sunlight, the brown fur with white spots is essentially the perfect pattern to disappear in this kind of terrain. The pattern works so well that on more than one occasion I have almost stepped on a fawn that I didn’t see until I was right up on it.
Picture #2 - White-tailed fawn visiting our yard in 2024. Picture #3 - Elk calf near Gardiner, Montana in 2023.
The instinct to rely on camouflage is so strong, that these babies will lay there motionless while you are standing very close to them, knowing that odds are good that if you are a predator and don’t see them, you will just keep moving along. The fact that these babies have virtually no scent means that by staying motionless, most of the time potential predators will just keep moving on and not find them. (bears are a notable exception to this, and therefore account for most predation on newborns) After first watching the area carefully for predators, the mothers will return periodically to nurse their babies. We have been able to watch these reunions from our back window, and it is super cute to watch the mother check the area out before approaching the place where the fawn was napping. At some point the fawn will see mom has returned, and springs to life, bounding over to mom and starting to nurse as if it was starving. After allowing the young to feed, and usually after a giving baby a good bath with her tongue, mom will somehow signal to her baby that its time to go back to napping. The fawn will then trot off a few yards and lie down again in a comfy spot. This behavior is referred to as “parking” her baby, and it is almost as cute to watch as the reunion when mom comes back. Mom then departs for what can be several hours of grazing to replenish her calories.
Picture #4- White-tailed fawn nursing along the Bitterroot river from 2024.
When deer (and less frequently elk) give birth in more urban settings, this occasionally leads to people finding the little ones, and making the erroneous assumption that the poor baby has been abandoned and is possibly not well. While the temptation is to try to pick the baby up and nurse it back to health, it is important to remember that parking young is a normal behavior, and you will do far more harm by trying to pick up or capture the baby. When you find a parked fawn or elk calf, keep your distance and leave it alone. If you stay nearby to watch it, the approaching mom will often see you and delay her return. If by accident you stumble on one while hiking and it gets up and runs away, don’t be too concerned. As long as you leave the area, when the mom returns it can generally find its baby. Moms and their babies will often talk to each other with soft bleats, which are also adorable if you are lucky enough to hear the conversation. It seems that by hearing their soft calls, fawns are usually able to reunite with moms when they need to.
Picture #5 & 6- Mule deer fawns also have spots, but as you can see they can have some color variation, taken in 2019 and 2023.
Hope you enjoyed some of these pictures of little ones that I have taken over the years. See you back next month,
Lea Frye - Wildlife photographer
www.leaf-images.com | Lea Frye, Wildlife Photographer | Helena, MT
Wild Animals / Wild Landscapes