Your Weekly Fawn Part II

There has been plenty of fawn activity in front of my camera sets over the past few weeks.

Here some most recent pictures.

I've got two separate sets of twins at completely different sites.

Here's the first pair.  Momma's looking a wee bit skinny. 

Trying to consume enough calories to feed twins, while also meeting her own metabolic needs must be a herculean task (especially with the brutal heat we've had lately).  Research investigating the energetic demands on female Black-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) that are lactating to feed juveniles illustrates what I'm talking about.  According to Sadlier (1982), female Black-tailed Deer that are lactating and feeding a single fawn consume 135% of the food/energy intake of non-lactating females.  Females lactating to feed twins consumed 170% of the intake of non-lactating does!

Here's the twins from the other site.

This momma looks a bit more heathly.

A couple of does with only one mouth to feed are also hanging around...

I think this is the same fawn as in the picture above.  This fawn and momma pass by this camera at fairly regular intervals.

More fawns in the future, I hope!

Literature Cited:

Sadleir, R.M.F.S. 1982. Energy consumption and subsequent partitioning in lactating black-tailed deer.  Canadian Journal of Zoology 60:382-386.