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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/whitetaileddeer200319s.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Something struck me as odd about the White-tailed Deer crossing the road. Yet, I couldn’t immediately identify the inconsistency.<\/p>\n
The doe had raised its tail as a flag to indicate that a predator had been detected. That imagined predator was undoubtedly a somewhat distant me, someone who merely happened to be travelling along the road, but who had no interest in harming the deer. The deer had registered a false positive.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t the expected false positive that was odd about this doe’s behaviour. But, what was it?
\n<\/p>\n
I looked back through my previous shots of retreating White-tailed Deer which had raised their tails so as to flag a suspected predator. The pictures were consistent: An agitated, flagging deer consistently chose to gallop away. A gallop is a quadruped’s most rapid means of departure. In the gallop, the basic gait involves all four feet being off the ground for a moment. A much slower gait is the trot, during which one front foot and its opposite hind foot come down at the same time.<\/p>\n
Two deer gallop along the beach (15 Feb 2013).
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/whitetaileddeer130215s.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A fawn gallops across a trail (17 Aug 2016).\u00a0
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/whitetaileddeer160817as.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Another fawn gallops through some grasslands (9 Aug 2019).\u00a0
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/whitetaileddeer190809bs2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
As gallops go, a winner is this doe leaping over another blocking its path (29 Feb 2012).\u00a0
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.kootenay-lake.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/whitetailjump.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
However, the most recent doe chose the more relaxed option of trotting while flagging. Its message is contradictory: It warns with a flagged tail, but has a relaxed departure. I am sure this is a known behaviour, but it was new to me.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Something struck me as odd about the White-tailed Deer crossing the road. Yet, I couldn’t immediately identify the inconsistency. The doe had raised its tail as a flag to indicate that a predator had been detected. That imagined predator … Continue reading