Description
This endangered Key deer buck was swimming through Coupon Bight, Big Pine Key, during his foraging rounds to eat red mangrove leaves. The Key deer, Odocoileus virginianus clavium, is a subspecies of the ordinary ubiquitous Virginia Whitetail deer, but the Key deer has evolved and presently exists in the wild only on a few islands in the Florida Keys. It is by far the smallest of any deer in the Americas.
Camera Specifications
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 400 mm
Species
Key Deer, Mangroves
Location
Big Pine Key, Monroe, FL
“They have been changing their individual behavior to better co-exist within human communities that pepper their last-stand area on Earth. But, the burden is on us to ensure they survive.”
Valerie PreziosiBig Pine Key, FL, USA