WEDS, APRIL 22, 2009, SPIEDEN ISLAND & KELP REEF

WEDS, APRIL 22, 2009, SPIEDEN ISLAND & KELP REEF

At Spieden Island in the U.S. San Juan Island Archapeligo, Five Star Whale Watching passengers saw Moufflon Sheep and Sitka Deer:

Moufflon Sheep
These were the first sheep to be domesticated by man in the New Stone Age (Neolithic) when farming began. At first they were probably kept for their meat, although their rough coats were made into felt, the earliest form of cloth. Their coats which are shed naturally are a mixture of hair and kemp. The Moufflon breed does not flock easily, moves at great speed and is quite capable of jumping fences 2 metres high !

Sitka Deer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sitka Deer or Sitka Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis), is a subspecies of Black-tailed Deer, sometimes referred to as the Mule Deer. Their name originates from Sitka, Alaska. Weighing in on average between 80 and 120 pounds, Sitka deer are characteristically smaller than other types of black-tailed deer. Reddish-brown in the summer, their coats darken to a gray-brown in the winter. They are also good swimmers, and can occasionally be seen crossing deep channels between islands. Their average life span is about 10 years but a few are known to have attained an age of 15.



Photos by Ron Bates of Marine Mammal Research Group (MMRG)