Why the white tail?
A curious question for Country Life, in which I examine scuts, rumps and rears and wonder why so many animals have such obviously flashy appendages.
The article appeared in the 17 August edition and you can read it in the link below. The starting point was a question by a curious young person. In this case my son Harry, aged 27.
“Look, deer! Can you see them, over there?”
“No, where?”
Three brown shapes, indistinct against a high timber fence, start to move. Soon they turn and are running away, white rumps bobbing.
“Oh yes, I see them now…why do they have those tails? It’s such a giveaway!”
And that was the start, and the rump end of it.
Pic credits Cyril Ruoso/naturepl/Getty
British wildlife, Countryside, deer, foxes, hares, mammals, rabbits