Exploring the Pacific Greenway: from Portland to the Coast

This page is dedicated to cataloguing the both common and interesting mammals that one is likely to encounter or have an interest in knowing more about, as a result of traipsing around the North Coastal Forest of Oregon.

Beavers

Beavers: description....

Bobcats

Roosevelt Elk

Skunk

Opposum

Coyote

The Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) also known as the Blacktail deer was previously considered a subspecies of the Mule deer, but current taxonomy considers it as a subspecies of the Sitka Deer that can be found from California to Alaska. This genus has two subspecies: the Columbian Black-tailed Deer and the Sitka Deer that can be found from Northern BC into Southern Alaska.

The blacktail deer obviously gets its name from its black tail. Bucks are typically 58 inches in length, 37 inches high at the shoulder with a 6.5 inch tail, and 8 inch ears. Does are a few inches shorter in length and have slightly small ears. The color of the coat changes seasonally, from reddish-brown in summer to gray in winter. Their weight usually varies, although the larger bucks may be over 150 pounds. Their natural life span is 9 to 10 years - if they survive their predators. One of the peculiarities of Blacktail deer is their habit of fleeing in high-bounding gait that allows them to abruptly change direction. Given the rough terrain they prefer, such a hopping escape must be difficult for a predator to follow.

Unlike Mule deer or Roosevelt Elk, Blacktail dear do not generally move in larger herds and are thus much harder to spot. They also have the habit of freezing in place when they sense danger, which makes them virtually invisible. Young Bucks typically leave the family group at 16 to 18 months and join a bachelor group. Young bucks are known to engage in spirited sparring with their horns to establish the social hierarchy in this group, but these jousts are usually not serious. Deer grow their horns every year, casting off their previous “rack” in the winter and growing a new set in the spring. Unlike mule deer in Eastern Oregon which often grow “forks” (horns with two points) in their first year, young coast range black-tailed typically grow “spikes” (horns with one point) in their second year. Both males and females spend their first year as a fawn in the family group. The family group is usually dominated by an older alpha-doe which picks the most favorable fawning area. Most groups will stay within a familiar area for most of their lives, indeed the average Blacktail spends most of its life in an area no larger than one square mile or less!

 Blacktail deer are especially secretive and rarely emerge from the wooden thickets so common to the Coast range. They often forage along well-used trails, and especially appreciate Poison oak. Deer are ruminants, or cudchewers that depend upon the ability of the cellulose-digesting bacteria in their four-chamber stomachs to process the roughage that they consume. Some of what these deer eat has no intrinsic nutritional value to the deer itself, such as Old-Mans-Beard Lichen that they happily consume. But the minerals in this otherwise non-nutritious plant satisfies the protein needs of the bacteria in their stomachs. Were they to ignore the needs of their bacteriological passengers, they might literally starve to death despite a full stomach of food. In the twilight hours of the day (dawn and dusk) they will venture into pastures, meadows and clear cuts to forage on the young growth along the edges of the forest. These animals are the epitome of grace and elegance as they pick their way carefully through the brush, constantly on the alert for danger.

The Blacktail deer are considered by many hunters to be the most challenging to hunt, since they do not congregate and can be difficult to spot. In the rutting season bucks will shadow the females. Fertile does will often emit a bleating call to summon the bucks when they are in estrus. So if you spot a group of females, watch carefully as it is likely that there is a buck lurking nearby.