Where's Bambi?

by Dr. Chordate

During deer season, many hunters' spouses (and an occasional hunter) worry about killing a "Bambi", Odocoileus bambiensis (sometimes referred to as a "cute, little Bambi", O. b. deeruslittlestcutiest). This research paper shows that these worries are valid only in a restricted geographical area.

A member of the Cervidae family, O. bambiensis has bony antlers that are shed annually, usually in late winter. A "Bambi" can be recognized in the field by its large orbits, apparent externally as the biggest, brownest eyes of any of the cervids (deer).

Although this species of deer seems considerably less common than other Odocoileus and rarely receives mention in texts of wildlife biology or mammalogy (e.g., Simpson, 1945; Young, 1957; Romer, 1966; Vaughan, 1972; Schmidt and Gilbert, 1978; Sealander, 1979), or in field guides to mammals (e.g., Burt, 1952, 1976; Collins, 1959; Murie, 1975), in fact it has world wide distribution. The earliest description of this species (Salten, 1928), details the natural history of an individual inhabiting central Europe (O. b. czechoslovakii).

The original description of the North American subspecies (O. b. disnei) can be found in Disney (1941). Although that monograph does not specify a geographical range for "Bambi" (perhaps an attempt to protect what might prove to be an endangered species), it does list several coexisting species, thus providing a means by which a "Bambi" can be located. Those coexisting species include: magpie, owl, rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk, opossum, skunk, and a large green frog. All these terms are used generically and thus are generally too vague to be useful.

However "magpie" includes only two species indigenous to the United States (Robbins, et al., 1983): the yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttalli) of central and southwestern California, and the more common and widespread black-billed magpie (Pica pica). The latter species ranges throughout the western half of the United States and as far east as central Nebraska and southwestern Kansas.

Similarly, only one species of opossum occurs within the United States: Didelphis marsupialis(Burt, 1976). It ranges widely throughout the eastern half of the United States and along the west coast. In the last 40 years, it has extended its eastern range as far west as Albuquerque and Denver and has become established in west-central Colorado.

Figure 1 shows the ranges of P. pica and D. marsupialis as they occurred in 1940 when Disney studied O. b. disnei (Disney, 1941; Burt, 1952; Robbins, et al., 1983). Therefore, "Bambi" must be restricted to a narrow band, about 10 to 20 miles wide, extending from extreme southwestern Kansas northnorth eastward through central Nebraska. Only in that area should hunters fear killing a "Bambi".

Note also that despite the connotation implied by the name "Bambi", both Salten (1928) and Disney (1941) describe the adult Odocoileus bambiensis as one tough hombre. So hunters beware.

Legend: Ranges of opossum (D. marsupialis, \\\) and magpies (Pica nuttalli Pica pica , ///) in 1941.

REFERENCES:

  • Burt, W. H. 1952. A Field Guide to Mammals. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston MA.

  • Burt, W. H. 1976. A Field Guide to Mammals. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston MA.

  • Collins, H. H. 1959. A Complete Field Guide toAmerican Wildlife. Harper and Brothers, New York NY

  • Disney, W. 1941. Bambi. Walter Disney Productions, Hollywood CA.

  • Murie, O. J. 1975. A Field Guide to Animal Tracks. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston MA.

  • Robbins, C. S., B. Bruun, and H. S. Zim. 1983. irds of North America. Golden Press, New York NY.
  • Romer, A. S. 1966. Vertebrate Paleontology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL.
  • Salten, F. 1928. Bambi: A Life in the Woods. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York NY.
  • Schmidt, J. L., and D. L. Gilbert. 1978. Big Game of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg PA.
  • Sealander, J. 1979. A Guide to Arkansas Mammals. River Road Press, Conway AR.
  • Simpson, G. G. 1945. The principles of classification and a classification of mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural Histsory 85: 1­350.
  • Vaughan, T. A. 1972. Mammalogy. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia PA.
  • Young, J. Z. 1957. The Life of Mammals. Clarendon Press, Oxford, England