More often than not something large kills a whitetail deer –a mountain lion, a wolf pack, a human, a vehicle– but what happens when something much smaller or invisible kills one? An illness, age..

This deer died of natural causes not long before the snow came last winter; it found a quiet thicket of young trees in which it laid down one final time. It was discovered just as the snow began to melt in the spring, and what happened next can teach us a lot about inter- and intra-species relationships, ecological evolution, their environment, and more.

When a larger predator takes down its prey, the meso(medium-sized) carnivores don't usually get to sneak much of a meal from their competition. This scenario offered the unique opportunity for those lower down the food chain to discover and prosper first, and for a few weeks, they sure did. In fact, even the Canada jays ate like tiny kings and queens for a stretch..it may have offered the best meals of their lives.

One thing that's obvious to see and compare between this carcass' various visitors is the tools that they were each given to help obtain their meals; for example, watch how much energy the red fox expends trying to break into the frozen hide of the deer. Now imagine if that fox were a wolverine. Some species were made for frozen dinners, and others..not so much.

As you watch the story unfold, consider these questions:

Who has tools for tearing, shearing, or slicing?
Who is able to make big moves vs who can go in with precision? Who can crunch bones, no problem?
Who tolerates a shared meal?
Who cooperates and benefits from working in a team? Who competes?
Who gets nervous at the scent of their competition?
Who feels comfortable lying down and hanging out for a while? Where is the eventual point of entry for our canine species?
Why doesn't the mountain lion feed longer on this deer?
Or better yet- drag and cache it away?

Some less obvious moments of note include the smallest canine marking on top of the pile of remains after the last visit from the largest canine. Beyond the feeding species, listen for seasonal clues as the days go on. Spring is a special time in the Swan, when things really start to come alive. Which migratory birds are arriving in droves? How does the birdsong change from one month to the next? Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments comes at the end of our story, when a dark-eyed junco collects hairs for its nest (and offspring to-come). No part of this whitetail is wasted. It supports many other lives, including ones that will arrive later that spring.