Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Black-tailed Deer and Douglas Fir" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor painting on Paper. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This art was originally published in the limited edition collection of philatelic proofcards issued by Fleetwood and the National Audubon Society for the Wildlife of the 50 States. A Black-tailed Deer, a small cousin of the Mule Deer bounds away, his dark tail saluting the air in a graceful truce sign that displays the tail's white underside. All Black-tailed Deer can be identified by their ebony tails, dark coats and slight build. Even a mature deer usually weighs no more than one hundred fifty pounds. This artwork depicts an Oregon Black-tailed Deer browsing among towering stands of the state tree, the Douglas Fir. Ordinarily vegetarians, Black-tailed Deer feed primarily on leaves, making them one of the few families of browsers. As browsers, deer do not compete with cattle or other domestic animals for grazing land, a factor which encourages their abundant existence in the United States. At last count more than 400,000 Black-tailed Deer populated the heavily forested Pacific states. These modern deer look very different from their primitive ancestors. In ancient times, deer were only as big as domestic cats, and as weapons they used long, saber-like teeth instead of antlers. These small mammals migrated across the glacial land bridge from Asia to America during the Ice Age. When oceans later covered the land bridge, the isolated deer in North America adapted to their new environment. Today seven separate species of deer live in the United States. Image Size: 12 x 13.75 in. Overall Size: 20.25 x 23 in. Unframed. (B05792)