Page 7 - Kind News, November/December 2025

AMAZING WORLD

HOW DO DEER STAY
WARM?

CRITTER CLUES

When winter comes, white-tailed deer don’t
I
wear jackets — but they have some cool 1 am found throughout the
tricks to stay warm! northern hemisphere, the
whole top half of the globe!
First, their coat undergoes changes. It becomes darker — from (The only mammal found in
OPPOSITE PAGE: FREEPIK. THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: GETTY IMAGES/UNSPLASH.COM; ADOBE STOCK.
red-brown to gray-brown — to absorb more sunlight. They have more places than me is the
guard hairs, long outer hairs that are hollow like tiny straws! These human!)
hairs trap warm air close to their bodies, acting like nature’s puffy
I
coat. Underneath, their fur grows thick. This soft inner coat helps 2 ’m a carnivore; I rely on
lock in body heat, even when it’s freezing outside. Their skin also meat for my meals.
produces oils that coat their fur. The oil blocks out snow and rain, 3 I hunt at night, all by myself:
letting them slide off so water can’t soak through. I eat birds, frogs, snakes,
Deer also change their behavior, or the way an animal acts. and grasshoppers.
They move less to save energy, and rest in cozy spots, like
thickets or areas blocked from wind. 4 My ears are so powerful,
They even find sunny patches I can hear rodents digging
to soak up extra warmth. under the ground or snow
Thanks to these amazing from miles away!
adaptations or changes that 5 I am not related to cats,
help animals survive, deer but share the same type
can stay toasty — even when of front claws. They are
it’s snowing!
retractable, or pull back to
keep them sharp.

6 Both of my parents took care
of me as a pup, bringing
How do you think food back to our den.
it feels to find a
sunny patch on a 7 I have a language of my
cold day? own that includes 20
different calls!

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Nov/Dec 2025 | 7
Nov/Dec 2025 |
RIDDLE ANSWER: A BIRD THAT DOESN’T GIVE A HOOT!