What "Bambi" Got Wrong
What "Bambi" Got Wrong
This week, we take the Great Prince of the Forest down a peg.
Welcome back to the SORT OF FUNNY FIELD GUIDES email, where we’ve been on a learning-about-deer kick. If you missed Part 1, we learned about some of the white-tailed deer’s super senses, including its panoramic vision and muscley ears. Part 2 was dedicated to the deer’s sniffer, as well as the invisible ink that is deer urine. And now, in Part 3, we’re going to talk about one of the very first Disney movies to do the whole watch-a-parent-die thing that for some weird reason has become a kids-movie staple.
That’s right, it’s time to talk about Bambi.
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The Great Prince of the Forest
Kids today probably aren’t watching Bambi as much as they used to, but most people are still at least aware of the film. Cute little deer, mom gets got by a hunter’s bullet—you know the gist. But there’s one scene that embodies a huge misunderstanding about deer biology, and that’s when Bambi first meets his daddy.
The young fawn can be seen frolicking in a field as other, older bucks dance around and play-fight. Then, out of nowhere all the other deer stop what they’re doing and look to the edge of the clearing, where a mighty stag stands proudly in a beam of light drifting down from the heavens.
“Everyone respects him,” says Bambi’s mother of the apex male. “For of all the deer in the forest, not one has lived half so long. He’s very brave and very wise. That’s why he’s known as the Great Prince of the Forest.”
Bambi’s dad has by-far the most impressive rack of any deer in the field, and we are meant to understand that his status is linked to his head gear. This part is actually true. Studies show that when lengths of antler are removed a bit at a time, the deer’s corresponding rank within a herd goes farther and farther down. But probably not for the reasons you think.
Despite what we see in nature documentaries, male deer don’t spend a whole lot of time locking antlers. In fact, many breed successfully every year without ever getting in a fight. This is because deer courtship is done on a case-by-case basis.
When a doe becomes reproductively available, any nearby males will take a run at her, because that’s what their instincts tell them to do. But if a male finds himself to be the only male in the area, it doesn’t really seem to matter how big or impressive he is. Even first-year bucks with crappy racks that would have a tough time making the Junior Varsity squad can mate successfully under the right conditions.
Of course, it’s likely that more than one male will be nearby, and that’s when antlers come in handy. But even this dynamic is misunderstood.
At the beginning of the rut, males of all ages and sizes will come together for a light tussle. These are like practice matches, and you can tell just by watching that their hearts aren’t really in it. Young deer use this time to get practice, while older deer are probably getting a sense of what sort of weaponry they’re working with up top.
It’s kind of weird to think about, but a buck can’t actually see its own antlers. Instead, he will have to figure out how large his rack is by judging how it feels to go up against another deer. Deer can also get a sense of their size by scraping branches and tree trunks as they scrape off the velvet leading up to the rut. Scent is an important indicator of size and stature, too, and the invisible chemicals bucks leave throughout the woods (and which we learned about in Part 2) give other males nearby an idea of what they might be up against.
However, once the preseason is over, things get serious. Mature bucks no longer pal around with younger deer, and any squaring off becomes an official challenge. But even then, true combat comes at a cost. Not only do battles require massive amounts of energy just before winter, but serious altercations can result in injury or death. And for these reasons, it seems evolution has ensured that potentially lethal antler attacks are a last resort.
A buck may take one look at another buck’s rack or sniff of his scent and decide to hoof it to another territory. Or he’ll initiate a battle but just as quickly realize he’s out-matched and run away before anything bad can happen.
So when do out-and-out buck battles take place? Only when two males that are evenly matched go after the same doe. If the deer can’t clearly tell who is superior, then they will throw down to determine a winner. This means running at each other, locking antlers, and engaging in a test of who can push whom the hardest, fastest, and longest.
It’s kind of like sumo wrestling, actually—but with deadly weapons. If a male can throw another male to the ground, the victor will seal the victory by stabbing at his opponent’s exposed flanks and gut. This usually sends the loser running off in pain, but can also sometimes mean fatal injuries if those antlers pierce vital organs or nick an artery. Typically, all of this happens in just 30 seconds, though longer matches can occur.
Now here’s the other bit we tend to get wrong. When a buck wins such a bout, he doesn’t lay claim to the entire forest. Nor does he automatically get to mate with all the does nearby. All he gets is a little bit of time and first choice at which doe to pursue, since multiple does may be in estrus (heat) at the same time.
But even then, mating is not a given! In white-tailed deer, does make males chase them all over hell and back. They run off a little ways, pee a little bit, and then run some more—never so far as to actually evade the buck, just enough to pique his interest. What’s with the urination? Each squirt is primed with juicy pheromones that likely help the male follow the female, but also keep him apprised of her breeding status.
Think of each tinkle like a tiny, liquid, love note.
When she’s ready, the doe allows the buck to catch her—a decision that can sometimes take up to two days of flirting. At this point, the male presses his chin onto the doe’s rump, which is apparently a really important bit of deer sign language. Deer breeders have noted that when a female is in heat, even a firmly placed human hand on the backside will cause a doe to instantly assume the breeding stance.
The buck mounts the doe by sliding up onto her back and delivering a single pelvic thrust so powerful, the male will often leave the ground and go momentarily airborne. It’s not a graceful flight, though, and when all of his weight comes crashing back down, it can drive the female forward or even knock her to the ground.
After months of antler-growing, weeks of jostling for status with other males, and one to two days of exhaustive tag, the deed is done in under 15 seconds. Talk about a let-down.
Of course, sometimes the couple will do it again over the course of the next day or two. Sometimes not. Sometimes the male will “guard” the female and fight any other bucks that come sniffing around. Other times he wanders off to try his luck with another doe.
One thing we know is that big antlers do not mean a free pass. In fact, researchers have found that when a doe has twins, they have a 20 to 25 percent chance of being half-siblings. This means that it’s quite common for a doe to breed with more than one buck in a mating season!
Even more stunning, most males only sire a single fawn per breeding season, and an average of two offspring per lifetime. This is because even the Great Prince of the Forest can only be in one place at a time. And every pairing requires an enormous amount of energy and time.
Clearly, this mating system has worked for deer for millennia. It just doesn’t fit into our neat and tidy idea of what Big Bucks are all about.
One last thing about the Great Prince of the Forest? He’s probably younger than your toddler. Because while any given deer has a chance to live past 10 years or more, most won’t make it past the age of four.