Oh Shit. Deer Ticks.

[NotHardUp1]

On a serious note, I thought almost all ruminants were primarily prairie or pampas species that also frequented the borders of meadows and glens, especially for shelter. That's not to say there are no browse plants in the woods, just fewer.

And there are obvious exceptions like mountain goats, that pigmy deer and moose (that evolved to eat conifer needles -- blech!)

 

[Kahaih]

I've read that there is evidence of the [so called] Native Americans burning down forests to create grasslands that would bring the American Bison and other game animals to their territories. It appears that they were manipulating habitats long before the Europeans arrived.

I believe that those would have been nomadic tribes, but still, it would mean that they were on the scene before the bison. LOL

Of course, much has happened/changed since the last ice age.