wildlife wednesday — june arrivals

By Andy Ames

June is the time that the newest generation of elk, deer, and bighorn sheep appear in the Estes Valley. During their first few weeks, these young ones are in their most vulnerable state until they gain the strength and speed needed to elude predators. Prior to giving birth each mother will leave her herd for a secluded spot. Mom will clean up her offspring and ingest the afterbirth to remove any scent from the scene. This also allows her to bond with her young which will be very important once they return to their herd. (Baby has to know who will allow it to feed). For elk and deer, secrecy is the key to safety. Calves and fawns will lay quietly while mom goes off to feed during the day. If a threat appears the fawn or calf will lay its head flat to the ground and remain motionless, hoping the danger will pass, for if it moves, it will surely be detected. This can be extremely stressful so remember to never approach a fawn or calf as tempting as this may be. When the mother returns mom will ingest the young’s feces while it nurses to make sure no scent is left behind.

Bighorn sheep take a different approach, however. Bighorn don’t elude predators by speed but by escaping to steep terrain. Instead of hiding, bighorn lambs stay with their mothers in an inaccessible place while gaining strength and agility. Bighorn mothers do little to protect their new lamb but rather teach it to follow to escape to safety.

Mother Mule deer with her young fawn.

Mother elk trying to coax her calf to cross the lake.

Bighorn ewe with her lamb. Already a few weeks old the lamb is now old enough to accompany its mother to some riskier terrain. Risk for a Bighorn means the flat valley bottom away from its steep escape terrain.

Can you spot the Mule deer fawn? During their first weeks, a fawn’s best defense is to hide and make itself as quiet and small as possible.

For a Bighorn lamb it’s best defense at a young age is to follow its mother and stay on slopes inaccessible to most other animals. Here you can see the lamb just behind its mother.

Young elk calf in hiding while it’s mother is off feeding herself.

This elk calf was part of a herd of elk that spooked by the sound of some hikers. Instead of trying to keep up with the rest of the herd, the calf took off in a different direction and hid next to a downed tree.

Mother elk nuzzles her calf while it nurses.

Fawns will remain hidden most of the day but eagerly get up to nurse when their mom returns.

While elk almost always give birth to a single calf, mule deer typically have a single fawn their first year and then twins annually after that.