Estimated read time: 4 min.
What do thermal devices reveal about animals, their sex, and their age? Hunter and a true thermal expert from Italy, Riccardo Tamburini, offers a deeper look at animal life through Pulsar lenses. Recently, he put his hands on some of our newest devices – Merger LRF XP35 thermal imaging binoculars and a Telos LRF XL50 monocular. These models helped him capture several breath-taking images and videos at night.
Capturing the cyclic molting of roe deers with thermal devices
Molting is when animals shed their old fur periodically to make way for new growth. “Generally speaking, it happens before turning to the young adult, then to the adult,” says Riccardo.
The real advantage of a thermal camera, Riccardo reveals, is that you get the chance to spot the smallest details not only during the day but also during twilight or night when spotting animals is easier. It’s not easy to see the deer during the day in open spaces, so thermal devices become handy.
When a deer starts turning the winter fur into summer one, the transformation is evident because he passes from thick and long hair to very short. Change is not the same for the whole body; it starts from the head and neck, so the animal seems sick with scabies. Branches in the woods can help to remove the part of old hair from the body. The possibility of seeing this change also during the night is significant because animals are calm and quiet during the night, and you are entirely unseen, allowing long and profound observations.
So, the question is: Merger LRF XP35 or Telos LRF XL50? Riccardo says you need both of them: “Both devices play very well, but Telos LRF XL50 is unbeatable when you need to see the smallest detail from very far. When the animal is close to you, having a traditional b/n camera (using a black hot palette) by your side seems better.”
He also shared a little more about what happens to those animals as they grow: „Many animals have a shield against the winter cold, given from a thick fur which could become useless and tricky late in the spring and summer. This is why mammals change their fur two times during the year. During the autumn – to better survive during the cold winter and during the summer – to cool off during the warmer months.
The real advantage of a thermal camera is that you get the chance to spot the smallest details not only during the day but also during twilight or night when spotting animals is easier.
Riccardo Tamburini
The most exciting fact is that this process starts in different periods considering the age and the sex of the roe deer, so it can be taken as a valid indicator to understand better if we are watching a female or a male, a young or an adult.
During the autumn, the molt is less evident than during the spring because the roe deer has a more step-by-step change: summer fur turns into autumn fur (different color, but same length), and then autumn fur changes into winter fur (same color but longer length).
The spring molt is quicker and more evident: it seems that the animal is not healthy and probably at first sight it appears scab-sick, but it’s just an impression: the old and thick fur drops even not naturally, also helped from the branches of the wood which speeds the hair falling.”
Molt as an indicator of the age and sex of a roe deer
The molt is different for each roedeer, considering the age and sex. The female starts before the male, and the young start before the adult. During the autumn, it’s quite easy to distinguish a male from a female because of the antlers.
But during winter, when the male loses its antlers, and also the female appears massive, the fur gives us some excellent indicators to understand better the sex: the white anal spot shape is different between males and females because the female shape is a “reverse heart” meanwhile in the male, it has a “bean” shape. The female also has a typical hair tuft called a “false tail,” which is not present in the male.
More helpful is the molt during the spring above all to better understand the age class of the female: one of the most common beliefs is that size matters because a mature female is bigger than a young one. But this video, filmed during spring with Merger LRF XP35, clearly shows that it’s not always accurate because we also know that the younger roedeer has a spring molt before the adult: and here we see a younger roedeer with spring fur much bigger than the other two still with an evident winter fur. There is no problem with males because they already have the new antlers on their heads.
The process of molting starts in different periods considering the age and the sex of the roedeer, so it can be taken as a valid indicator to understand better if we are watching a female or a male, a young or an adult.
Riccardo Tamburini
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