May 23, 2010 - Summer Coat

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Winter jackets and snow pants are long behind us. It’s time for T-shirts and shorts. Out in the woods, white-tailed deer have, likewise, changed into their summer attire. During the winter months, deer sport a grayish-brown, heavy coat of hollow hairs. Although good for trapping body heat and providing winter insulation, this winter coat would be too warm now. So each spring deer molt their old coat over the course of a few weeks as they grow a new one. These new coats do not have the thick winter underfur and have short, solid outer hairs. They give the deer a new reddish color. This lighter summer coat works well for an animal that has few sweat glands to cool itself during the heat of summer. White-tailed deer certainly know how to dress for the occasion.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.