Skip to main content

Style Magazine

Folsom Zoo Spotlight

Apr 30, 2012 09:58AM ● By Style

Photo courtesy of the Folsom Zoo.

Living in nearly 75 percent of California’s wildlands, black-tailed mule deer get their name from two distinctive characteristics: their black tails and extra-big ears.

Deer spend early morning and late evening hours munching on leaves, acorns and tender twigs, then nap during the day. Fawns are born in spring and their speckled coats provide perfect camouflage. An older dominant doe and her offspring travel together, while young bucks leave the family to join a bachelor group where dominance challenges are common. Tallulah was born in July 2005 and moved to the Zoo when she was young. Like all deer, Tallulah is a ruminant: she has a four-chambered stomach and “chews her cud.” Who makes those heart-shaped tracks you’ve seen in the wild? Those belong to none other than our local deer.