More melanistic deer and a Texas-sized slug
Driving at dusk through my northwest Austin neighborhood requires a sharp eye for unwary deer ambling or darting across the street. Last evening, my husband and I spotted the usual groups of does and fawns as well as a few rare melanistic deer too. Their dusky coats make them even harder to see as the sun goes down.
I say “rare” because articles online declare melanistic deer to be unusual, even rarer than albino deer. But my Westover Hills neighborhood has a healthy population of these black deer. Their dark coats, caused by a benign excess of melanin in their bodies, make them extra hard to see against our gray limestone rock and in the dim shadows of live oaks. But aren’t they pretty?
Melanistic fawns — we spotted this one just up the hill from the does pictured at top — appear to lack the white spots of other baby deer. But the spots are there, just faint under that dark coat. This doe may have been babysitting, as she had two normal-colored fawns with her as well.
In other wildlife spottings, I discovered a ginormous slug squelching down a stone wall in my garden a couple of days ago. I’d never seen a slug this big in Texas. I think it could hold its own against the banana slug of the Pacific Northwest!
Naturally I had to pick it up. I got slimed. Who knew that slug slime doesn’t wash off with soap and water but must be scraped off? And aren’t you glad you know now?
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Digging Deeper
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Slug slime: use salt. Pour some on your hands, and it usually does the trick!
Good to know!
Eeeewww! Bare-handed slug pickup. I’m still shuddering. They creep me out, even after ten years here, and are the main reason I always wear disposable nitrile gloves in the garden. That is a pretty big slug, it would be completely at home here.
I’ve been surprised by some of the reactions I’ve gotten from people about picking up a slug. They don’t seem creepy to me. That slime, though!
Deer, nice. Slug, not so much, but I’ll keep your experience picking it up in mind for future reference!
Don’t try to wash it off! That’s what I’ve learned. Only makes it more slimy.
You picked it up!!!? Yuck. I accidentally ended up with one between my toes (flip flops) and that was gross enough for me.
Everyone seems so surprised that I picked it up. But they don’t bite, and how else was I going to pitch it into the greenbelt so it couldn’t eat my plants? 😉 The slug-in-a-flip-flop story is much more hilarious!
ewww, slug slime! gah! I recoiled when I saw it in your bare fingers. I will remember the salt trick to get that slime off my hands next time I have an encounter with one though. Thanks for the tip, Michael!
I also read you can rub your hands together and ball it up. Just don’t use soap and water — ha!
Interesting about the deer. I have never seen one of the melanistic deer around here. I have seen several albinos over the years.
I wouldn’t have picked up that slug for the very fact I knew that you were getting slimed. ugh…. Been there done that.
Hee hee!
You’re bringing back my San Francisco gardening days — and not in a good way! It looks as melanistic as the fawn above. I’ve been surprised but grateful that the constant rains from last fall through this spring haven’t resulted in a slug and snail explosion here; credit probably goes to the big local bird brigade.
Big slugs lead to big birds, I bet!
How cool! I wonder if there are more melanistic deer because it’s getting hotter. More sun protection, maybe? As for slugs, we used to have slugs that size in Corpus Christi. I haven’t seen them recently, but maybe I just haven’t visited during slug season. I’ve never been inclined to pick them up, though! Salt kills them, so beware — unless they’re eating your garden.
I think he was suggesting to use the salt to get rid of slime on one’s hands. But yes, it’s a slug killer too.