nPosted on March 11, 2020
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThere are these very small deer that live on some very small islands in Florida. Because the islands are called the Florida Keys, the deer are called key deer.
n
n
n
nSome people say that key deer are just white-tailed deer that don’t get very big, and others argue that key deer are an actual sub-species. Whichever is the true case, key deer are generally only half as large as white-tailed deer!
n
n
n
n
n
n
nWhen full grown, they are less than two and a half feet tall, and they weigh less than 75 pounds.
n
n
n
n
A key deer fawn weighs only 2 to 4 pounds! Ahhh! And their little hooves leave prints in the ground that are the size of a human adult’s fingerprint!
![](https://i0.wp.com/1.bp.blogspot.com/-2G--kdbOLGY/XlVia2oSqGI/AAAAAAACS4g/IimXsSStKrMy_MMxx3ygRVENELbWPoUyACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fawn.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nUntil the 1930s, it was legal to hunt key deer. Even when hunting them became illegal, some people poached (illegally hunted) them – and key deer almost went extinct.
n
n
n
nIt may be that the population went down as low as 25 to 50 key deer! Yikes!
n
n
n
n
Nowadays, there are laws that protect the deer, and there are hundreds – maybe as many as 1,000 – key deer living on the islands. That number is still too low – they are considered endangered.
![](https://i0.wp.com/1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHo4zFQV9eA/XlViypzjmfI/AAAAAAACS44/xCZsgInRvtgcRatWwfqNXAcFNLX56V9rQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/deer%2Bwith%2Bperson.jpg?resize=320%2C214&ssl=1)
n
n
n
nThe best place to look for key deer, these days, is the National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge on Big Pine Key. There are also a lot of deer on No Name Key.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
By the way, most deer can swim, and key deer are fairly good swimmers that can swim from island to island.
![](https://i0.wp.com/1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qad52e84Oyg/XlVimwTe6YI/AAAAAAACS4o/UgatpZyTnDoav3HbSlX5_sPW0d0QHkbNACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/toro%2Bswimming.jpeg?resize=320%2C179&ssl=1)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlso on this date:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMoshoeshoe Day in Lesotho
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nEight Hours Day in Tasmania
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nWorld Plumbing Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversary of Charles Van Doren’s loss on the TV quiz show TwentyOne
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversary of the discontinuance of two-stick Popsicles
n
n
n
n
nNational Oatmeal-Nut Waffle Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlan ahead:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nCheck out my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
- n
-
n
-
n
-
n
n
n
n
n
nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
n
- n
-
nApril holidays
n
-
n
-
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n