Transported to California from Europe, white fallow deer call
Mt. Madonna Park their home
In a safe, gated clearing far away from the sounds of civilization that creep ever closer, 50 deer lay out in the sun chewing on alfalfa curd.
With no natural predators around and protection from the high chain-link fence creating their pen, the exotic-looking white deer aren’t worried about much of anything. When someone approaches their enclosure, instead of turning their heads in alarm, the deer turn only to see if he or she has food for them.
Such is the life for the white deer that call Mt. Madonna County Park home.
But it wasn’t always such an easy life. Less than 10 years ago, the population of white fallow deer was poached down to just four. They were easy pickings as they lay out in their pen.
Since then, when park officials moved the deer into a safer enclosure, the deer population has thrived. So well, in fact, that the males and females have been separated so the population doesn’t climb to an unmanageable number. However, a few couples were not separated because they had too close a bond with one another.
“We separated them to avoid a population explosion,”said D. Smith, a park ranger at Mt. Madonna.
It all began as a gift given to local land magnate Henry Miller from wealthy publisher William Randolph Hearst nearly a century ago.
“There were two of them,” Smith said. “Hearst was a big animal lover. They overpopulated his estate, so he gave them away.”
Hearst, who lived on the Central Coast, gave two white fallow deer, which he had acquired from their native home in Europe, to Miller. By the time he died in 1919 and the park service had begun to collect the land at Mt. Madonna, there was an entire herd to be cared for.
Along with the land, the park acquired the exotic deer, who are kept separate from the other animals of the park because they are not native to California and would affect the environment and could spread diseases to other animals.
And, other than the poaching incident 10 years ago, it’s been a pretty nice life for the deer.
“We feed them alfalfa and sweet cob,” Smith said. “They constantly have to be chewing because their teeth grow.
“We encourage people to feed deer healthy things, like apples, carrots and lettuce,” Smith said. “These deer also have the ability to vocalize, so when you come close to them you may hear them making sounds. … They’re begging (for food).”
The deer also are checked out weekly by park staff and by a veterinarian once each year.
The deer’s antlers are one of the few characteristics that make them different from other deer. Instead of pointed antlers, white fallow deer grow antlers that are palmated, or connected together and flattened.
The male deer grow a new set of antlers each year, and they have a soft velvet covering that helps collect nutrients for the antlers to grow. The deer scrape the velvet covering off once the antlers are fully developed – usually in September.
The deer mate in October and the young are born in June.
Two or three times each year, park rangers teach visitors about what makes the white fallow deer special, and also about understanding deer in nature.
“We’ve all seen deer, but how much do people actually know about them?” Smith asked.
Smith said most people have what is referred to as “Bambi syndrome” when they see a deer – meaning they think that deer are cute like the character in the Disney movie.
“People don’t know they’re wild animals, and they can hurt you,” Smith said.
Park Ranger John Hanen will introduce park visitors to the deer at 10 a.m. Saturday. Included in the program is teaching people where they came from, how they got here and how they compare with the native deer population.
“It really helps to raise awareness about these animals,” Smith said.
To take part in the introduction to the white fallow deer, meet at the Park Office/Visitor Center on Pole Line Road off of Highway 152 at 10 a.m. No reservations required, and there is a $4 vehicle fee. For more information call 842-2341.
