Indomitable Nature Master
Not abominable, indomitable- that’s strong and tough, built for all seasons.
Look closely, deliberate on the details
Begin with the coat of the whitetail deer. Do you have different colored coats? You bought them. The whitetail fur coat changes color in a seasonal molt. Whitetails exchange warm season fur for cold weather fur molting or shedding all their fur in a gradual shift to adjust to weather change.
Stop.
Think about what you just read. Twice yearly whitetail deer shed their fur…all of it. Before warm weather the heavy winter fur sloughs off…gradually. Each passing day towards the heat of summer, heavy whitetail fur is shed and replaced with thinner, cooler summer fur. There is no date on anyone’s calendar. There is no alarm sounded. The fur is exchanged-twice in a year. How many hairs are on a whitetail’s body? Is this phenomenal? Take a moment, imagine this annual event and its truth…let it astound you…thousands and thousands of hairs exchanged twice a year.
The deer hair was clipped by the teeth of a carnivore-center of photo.
These hairs are hollow…they trap heat.
Don’t believe it?
Observe the color of a whitetail in June, July and August. Then observe the whitetail in October, and November. The color change is noticeable. Warm season fur has a brown/red tinge. Cold season fur is gray/black, it absorbs more radiant energy. No human hand has a part in any of it.
Indomitable…strong, tough…
Whitetails in winter and all seasons are worthy of human admiration…not worship…appreciation and respect would be best.
That gray black winter coat is designed with guard hairs over the entire body. Each one is hollow. Hollow hair insulates. How well do you think you and I would fare if we spent every night outside in northern habitats? Wait, let it sink in. Every night from November through April with all but a handful BELOW freezing. Frozen water every night for 5 months, blood would freeze too. Could we survive? In a word…nope. The fur coat of the whitetail is phenomenal…but there is more, oil glands enable the whitetail to waterproof the coat, in cold or warm weather. Hollow hairs allow the whitetail more buoyancy when swimming.
Indomitable…strong, tough…
We’ll not emphasize browse, just mention it and a few other things…the whitetail transitions from grass to tree bark each fall. Not the fact that they have 32 teeth as we do. Let’s just mention they remain bedded down longer each day in winter…burning fewer calories. Just a sentence on bucks shedding antlers in late winter, growing new replacements each spring. Another sentence on whitetail hearing. Look at those ears, think about their eyesight, and sense of smell. These add to the indomitable status of the whitetail…consider them…parts of indomitable.
The inner part of the hoof is cushioned.
Contemplate the foundation of the indomitable whitetail, its hooves. They are anatomical wonders. They work like shock absorbers, cushioning a landing. Adult whitetail buck average 130-300 pounds, while the doe weighs 90-200 pounds. Hooves cushion the landing of these heavy animals. The middle and back of each hoof has a softer cushion which absorbs shock. Hooves are also whitetail weapons. All have two claws above each hoof. These dew claws spread out the weight of the deer in deep snow and mud. The pointed tips of the hooves enable digging in snow for food.
This is the hoof of a button buck…almost a year old. It did not survive the winter.
While indomitable, there is always one or more that cannot withstand the rigor and stress of winter. Some animals do not survive. They become an immense food supply for other animals in white tailed habitat. Some of them harvest living whitetails, others feed on those who die for other reasons. These are indomitable as well: coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, squirrels, mink, pine martin, weasel, red fox, meadow voles, deer mice and others not coming to mind, all fit in the indomitable group. All of them have similar design to survive extreme cold weather.
All are testimony to one over arching truth: there is a Creator.
Look at the indomitable animals of winter, the most noticeable, the tough white-tailed deer. Then consider that the same Creator made you. These animals of winter have invisible power in them. We call it life. Life is a miracle both in these indomitable winter animals, miraculous life instilled in them and us, from conception. Truly, life is a gift…only God has power to give it. The indomitable characteristics of the whitetail: toughness and strength, are evidence of His dominion. He is the Giver of life and power, in all of His creation and certainly for you and me.
The hollow hair and dense winter coat allow whitetails to lay on the snow. Their weight and body heat gradually create a deer shaped cup in the snow.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. Psalm 18:33
Beautiful Whitetail habitat…cover, food (browse) and water all in the same location. You would like the quiet here.