Deer on the Road #club100

Saskatchewan is home to a huge population of ungulates. They are everywhere...wait. What? What is an ungulate? An ungulate is any animal with hooves. Did you know that a hoof is really just a huge toenail? Their function is to help animals run faster--usually in an attempt to get away from wolves, coyotes, and other predators such as cougars and mountain lions.

This is a pronghorn deer. The only place it lives is in North America and it's habitat stretches from the Canadian Prairies, through the American Great Plains, down through the American Southwest all the way through Baja California in Mexico. Although this is just a single pronghorn that I captured while driving by, they run in huge herds.

This doe is an elk, which is one of the largest species in the deer family. They live all over Canada and the northern hemisphere. They feel quite at home in Saskatchewan where they enjoy eating crops and jumping across the highways. Elk meat is considered a good quality and desirable meat, and this has led to widespread domestication of elk by ranchers all over the world. Have your ever had an elk burger? They are tasty.

This baby is a mule deer--I think. All deer babies look the same to me haha. If not a mule deer, it is a white tail deer. This one looks just like Bambi. Although this little fawn was very curious about us, we were very lucky the mother was not annoyed or worried about us as all animals will protect their young. We did not even see the mother, but it is very sure she was nearby, resting under a tree or in a hollow somewhere---ready for action if we made any wrong moves.

I see these types of ungulates all the time. We make jokes that we need to kick them out of the way when walking anywhere. Almost everyone groans loudly while complaining about how ungulates will jump over their fences and eat their vegetable garden, or chew off all the new growth on their trees. Then we eat an elk burger and feel a little bit better.

What about you? You you have this problem where you live?

This is a 100% POWER UP! post for #club100