The twist is that some male rabbits also have something resembling a small dewlap. For some, it is quite large for others, it's kind of small. (A lot of Nicolettes have turned out to be Nicholases, and a fair number of Georges have been renamed "Georgette.") That's because, without looking between their legs, the most obvious physical difference between boy and girl bunnies is most adult females have a fold of skin under the chin called a dewlap. In fact, it's not unusual for people to mis-sex rabbits. This represents a strong degree of dimorphism. When looking at deer, it's usually obvious who is who: he has antlers, she does not. Biologists use this term to refer to the degree of physical differences between the male and female of a species. The second reason for a preference for a different terminology is something called sexual dimorphism. (Sadly, in some urban areas, due to humans upsetting nature's balance, certain deer populations could also use some family planning.) (Spay and neuter!) Deer, on the other hand, are wild animals. HRS is a nonprofit, nonbreeding organization. Buck and doe, when used for rabbits, are primarily breeding terms, and most domestic bunnies are bred for commercial reasons. Over the course of numerous commutes, I've come up with three reasons why. Then I thought-Oh dear, wasn't I the one who wrote the Journal article about how House Rabbit Society prefers to not use the terms buck and doe for rabbits? (Boy/girl, male/female work well for us.) So why, in this context, did doe sound so appropriate to me? As I put the car in gear, I thought, What a pretty doe. Early the other morning, I was backing out of the driveway when I saw a deer in our neighbors' yard.
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