Question: “I have a question on Ohio's "state animal,' the white-tailed deer. I'm no big-time zookeeper . . . but aren't the "state bird' and the "state insect' already animals? How did the white-tailed deer proudly get promoted past the cardinal and ladybug to the lofty "state animal' title? . . . Why don't our fine, busy state congressmen do something important, like promoting our state flower (red carnation) to "state plant'?”

        Answer: You were sounding a little bitter there at the end, but we'll pretend we didn't hear a disdainful tone. In phone calls to and from Columbus, we pretended not to hear the giggling — or the finger pointing, which is pretty hard to hear in any case.

        “We consider it (the deer) the state mammal,” says Jane Beathhard, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “I've seen it written that way dozens of times . . . in this agency.”

        But Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's office, which maintains a list of 16 official state symbols, calls the deer the state animal, says spokesman Carlo LoParo.

        “Animals and mammals (the words) are frequently interchanged,” Ms. Beathhard says. “So that might be where some of this confusion comes from.”

        Animals, by dictionary definition, are “all living things not human beings and bacteria.”

        But the folks at Natural Resources seem to be fairly consistent in their use of mammals, as are the folks at the secretary of state's office with animals.

        The ultimate source, the legislation that first cited the deer, called it the official state animal in May 1988.

        Interesting that this Stupid reader should mention the state flower. A similar conundrum arises with the official state wild flower, the large white trillium.

        And again, with the state song (Beautiful Ohio) and the state rock song (Hang On, Sloopy). And off we go again.

        One other animal that wasn't mentioned in the first go-around: the official Ohio reptile, the black racer snake, applauded for its diet of disease-carrying rodents. Snakes are animals, too, you know.

        If you have a stupid question, send it to Ask a Stupid Question, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail mpulfer@enquirer.com.

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