Deer Playing In The Leaves

john wingfield

A new viewpoint on antlers reveals the evolutionary history of deer (Cervidae, Mammalia)

fullview recommended!

something i've wanted to do for a while now. i've scoured the internet for something like this and can't find anything that compares all the different types of antlers together. except one recent study on their evolution, which is also very interesting on its own! i simplified it to provide a visual reference, while still trying to be scientifically accurate. some things differ between this and trophy scoring terminology like where the beam is and whatnot, so if something looks weird that's why.

small additional note, this study and others provide a lot of evidence that eld's deer should be in their own genus as it doesn't appear similar enough to barasingha and schomburgk's deer. however this doesn't seem to be adapted anywhere yet, so they're still in Rucervus for this guide.

🔴 KO-FI

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Merry Hearth’s Warming to all :3

ugly baby doll, my favorite Pooh character (alternatively: taking an inside joke between @tomfowlery and I too far)

If someone comes around the corner or spooks me and I don't expect it, I jump so far backwards they make fun of me 🥲

When I hear a noise that startles me I perk up and turn my head towards the sound and listen for a bit. Sometimes I feel like my ears "move" towards the sound. My hearing focuses better, in a placebo kind of way.

If I'm in a "herd" of people I know I feel wary, like I'm not high enough in the social order, if that makes sense? Likely has to do with my autism, but it reminds me of not being one of the lead matriarchs of the herd. That's a thing exclusive to my whitetail side, however. When I have strong reindeer shifts I feel confident and safe around my "herd" and I have a strong protective instinct because I'd actually have antlers for part of the year along with the natural strength of reindeer in both herd size and strength.

Just a thought post but does anyone get example “ prey instincts “ upon being scared? Like when im scared all i want to do is buck and turn away swiftly but im so limited in this stupid body and also would look weird doing so, also just feeling on edge around people i deem as carnivorous.

The stag in me wants to protect myself and my herd but it’s like no antlers!!

Curious on how it is for anyone else if you are a prey species! Share your thoughts too

On April 16th 2025 the US federal government has proposed to change the interpretation of the endangered species act so that it no longer protects habitat.

This is open for public comment until the end of May 19th. Please comment and make your voice heard.

Wildlife need their habitat. If the ESA redefines harm so that habitat is no longer protected, the implications for wildlife would be catastrophic.

no no this is actually really good advice, dw! thank you so much for the suggestion, i didn't consider editing before but im actually pretty good at it so that sounds feasible! i'll have to look into review writing as well, anything involving writing would work great for low energy days.

to clear some things up, i'm not physically disabled or physically unable to work, i'm psychologically impaired right now and thus unemployed/not attending college yet. hopefully SSI will approve me since they did my evaluation recently. also just today i FINALLY got my dad to agree to $100 a week for groceries so now i may be in the clear for a few months, yay! it's still a good idea for me to build up some personal savings before i go to school this fall, and i can make a certain amount of money per month without losing SSI so i really appreciate the tips!

does anyone know how to genuinely make at least $100 a month while unable to work that doesn't involve art commissions/those scammy rewards apps/etc? i'm still waiting on SSI to either approve or deny me a second time and my dad basically told me to eat quarters so uh 🤪 i'm looking for any way to buy groceries for myself. my mom suggested the food pantry but that doesn't sit right with me because i have college savings i choose not to dip into opposed to being in desperate need (im not using them because it's all my mom and i have left for emergencies).

before anyone asks we got denied for food stamps (apparently my mom's disability payments are $100 over the income limit? wow US government ur really rooting out the fraudsters here /s)

any tips would be so so appreciated!! thank you for reading and goodbye for now 🦌

same goes for this blog as well

just a heads up, i haven't gotten around to making a proper pinned post yet but i would like to set some boundaries real quick!

please do not interact if you post/reblog NSFW or your blog name is something sexual. i also block "proshippers"/"darkshippers" or anything similar.

my blog is SFW but i am an adult, please do not interact if you are under 16! 18+ accounts are welcome to interact if your posts are all SFW.

i may post mild horror content but it will be tagged accordingly (like my mlp infection au and stuff). i do not post gore or vent art.

goodnight everybody