White-tailed deer fawns wear rows of spots on their backs as additional camouflage that will eventually be lost by the time the fawns are four months old. This painting of a white-tailed deer fawn was painted in watercolor.
The animal kingdom is rife with colors and patterns that are superficially worn and can serve a number of purposes. These visible arrangements can also, in some cases, change according to factors such as age or the season. A pattern that happens to be popular among many species of animals when they are young is one of spots, a very useful composition of roundish shapes that can occur in a variety of sizes and colors.
In summer, young robins that have hatched in spring can be seen as independent birds hopping in the grass in pursuit of insects and roosting in trees with adult robins. Sleeker feathers have replaced puffy plumage, but a telltale sign gives away the fact that these are young robins: their feathers have a starry spread of spots. Gray feathers on the back and wings are edged with thin white lines and spots while orange and white feathers on the chest are filled with darker painterly dollops and speckles. These juvenile hallmarks will be lost as the molting process replaces spotted feathers with unspotted feathers before the start of autumn.
Another spotted youngster can be found in the forest. Prancing around on impossibly thin legs tipped with black hooves is a white-tailed deer fawn. The fawn wears a rust-colored coat of fur that matches its mother’s, but the fawn’s fur is decorated with the addition of rows of white spots. Occurring on the fawn’s back, the spots mimic the effect of dappled light that gets broken up through the branches and leaves of surrounding trees. When curled up on the forest floor for a nap, the fawn is immersed in a blanket of camouflage. As is the case with young robins, the fawn’s spots will also be lost with age. By the time the fawn is four months old, the spots will have faded away.
The irregular pattern of spots and similar patterns of patches and stripes break up otherwise uniform blocks of color, increasing the ability to hide and helping ensure safety, two important needs for the stumbling and curious. Mountain lions, tapirs, and a list of other animals also begin their lives with this additional and temporary camouflage and outgrow the pattern as they increase their independency and knowledge that is acquired with age. The spots that they wear exist as an extra touch of evolutionary ingenuity and also, in my opinion, as an extra touch of adorableness.