Deer

Deer are among the most familiar animals in the world, present across nearly every continent and in the backyards of millions of people. Almost nobody knows that their antlers are the fastest-growing tissue of any animal, that fawns are odorless by design, or that deer can detect UV light invisible to humans.

Facts you didn't know

• 1

  Deer antlers are the fastest-growing tissue in the animal kingdom — growing up to 2.5cm per day in peak season, outpacing even tumor growth rates. They're covered in velvet (skin and blood vessels) while growing, which is shed when growth is complete.

• 2

  Fawns have no scent for their first weeks of life — a deliberate adaptation. The mother leaves the fawn hidden in vegetation and grazes nearby, returning to nurse. A predator walking within feet of a fawn may not detect it.

• 3

  Deer can see ultraviolet light that is invisible to humans. Their eyes are sensitive into the UV range, which means they can detect UV-brightened laundry detergent residue on clothing — one reason hunters wash clothes in UV-blocking detergents.

• 4

  Deer communicate through scent glands positioned at multiple body locations — between the toes, at the base of the leg, and near the eye. Each gland serves a different communicative function, creating a chemical language invisible to humans.

• 5

  White-tailed deer can run at 48km/h and jump 2.7 meters vertically and 9 meters horizontally from a standing start — athletic capabilities that make their apparent calmness in suburban settings even more striking.