Cervidae is the scientific name for all species of deer. It derives from the Latin word Cervus, which simply means stag or deer. The Cervidae family belongs to the order Artiodactyla, which represents all even-toed ungulates or hoofed animals with a certain kind of foot.
Keefer Field Journal Notes, Spring, 2022 - She leads her family through the trees and watches the road, signaling to them when it is safe to cross. She stares back at me through my car window, gauging my intentions, and deciding when to flee. Mine and Ray’s relationship consists of mutual observation, which I believe is the healthiest way to interact with a wild animal.
I have spent months trying to capture a specific doe on Dogwood Road. The first time I saw her was a frigid dawn in January. In the dark of a blue-black sky just beginning to glow around the edges, it was hard to see how she didn’t look just the same as all other deer.
Back then, when I began my fieldwork, all the deer looked the same—lithe and graceful, in their grey-brown winter coats—and they were all elusive. Then, when I read that white-tailed deer are matrilineal, meaning that they organize themselves into family groups led by an older doe who uses her experience to guide her daughters, sisters, and nieces, I realized that I had been seeing Ray all along.
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