The Wonders of the Jungle, Book One

by Sarath Kumar Ghosh

But while the new antlers are growing, they are not hard. As yet they are soft and tender, and all that time they have an outside covering like hairy leather, to guard them from harm. But as soon as the elk feels that his antlers are quite grown, and are strong and hard, he strips off the outside covering by rubbing the antlers against trees.

Of course, while his antlers are still growing, and are soft and tender, the elk cannot use them to fight another animal; so during that time he hides in the bushes. But as soon as his new antlers have become hard and strong, he is very brave again, and is ready to fight!

Does the elk fight much? He does! He fights most awfully when he has his new antlers. What he fights about, and with whom he fights, I shall tell you in another book.

There are a few other kinds of deer in America, but the funniest of them is called the mule deer, which lives along the Rocky Mountains. He is called the mule deer because he has very long ears, like a mule's ears. And perhaps you have seen a mule bucking—that is, jumping about while holding his legs quite stiff. Well, the mule deer can buck just like that.

And while he is running at a gallop, he will often jump off the ground with stiff legs, and then hop on and on many times like that, with stiff legs, finishing up with another gallop.

That makes him look very funny, and because he jumps like that people in Canada sometimes call him the jumping deer.

Other Kinds of Deer

I must now tell you about some other kinds of deer that live in jungles and forests in other countries.

The fallow deer lives in Europe. When he is wild, he lives in a forest; but when he is tame, he lives in a park. He is a small deer, about the size of a donkey. His coat is very soft and glossy and beautiful. In winter his coat looks dark brown, and his legs and the under part of his body are light brown. But in summer his coat becomes a lovely light red in color, with white spots jotted all over it. Then he is very handsome.

In India also there is a handsome deer, which the people call the lion deer. He looks quite gentle and mild. Then why do the people call him the lion deer? Because he has a lovely coat, golden yellow in color. You could see him far across the open field, if he only stood there. But he is so timid that he does not often come out in the open.