White-tailed Deer Facts | White-tailed Deer Habitat & Diet

Some of the astounding white-tailed deer facts including its habitat, diet, reproduction and species have been embedded in this article. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a medium sized deer that is endemic to United States. These animals are widely found in South America, Canada, and Central America.

Some of these species also exist in Peru and Mexico. Recently these white-tailed deer have also been introduced in Finland, Serbia, Czech Republic and New Zealand. Previously, these animals existed in the Rocky Mountains of Nevada, Hawaii, Utah, and Alaska. These types of deer inhabits in the woodlands, aspen parklands, riparian corridors in the Great Plains and British Columbia and Dakota. New York hosts the most individuals that any other in the world.

These types of deer are considered to be the state animals in various States of the United States such as Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hemisphere, Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan, Louisiana, and Illinois. The estimated population is about 30 million all throughout the United States.

White-tailed Deer Facts

In the spring and summer season, the color of the coat exhibits reddish-brown while it changes to the grey coat during the fall.
The weight of the deer living in North America is about 60 to 130 kg (130 to 290 lb), even though it can weigh up to 159 kg (350 lb). One of the largest deer caught in 1926 by Carl J. Lenander, with the weight measuring at 232 kg (510 lb). The female weighs around 40 to 90 kg (88 to 200 lb), with an average weight of 35 to 50 kg (77 to 110 lb).
These animals are 95 – 220 cm (37 – 87 inches) long, with a tail measuring 10 to 36.5 cm (3.9 – 14.4 inches).
The shoulder height of these species is 53 – 120 cm (21 – 47 inches).
The weight of the male is about 68 kg (150 lb).
Males re-grow their horns each year. However, in females these antlers are not so common in that only 1 out of 10,000 is estimated to have these horns. The length of the horns is solely determined by the nutrients and genetics. These may very well indicate the age of the deer.
Their extensive adaptability makes them even common to most of the habitats that occur in the range of temperate regions. Northwest deer have the largest horns among all the deer species. One of the smallest deer is often found in the lowlands of Florida Keys.
Despite the fact that these species akin to live in the small openings, they’re also more likely to reside in savanna woodlands and other open areas. Deer living in these areas display a significant size variation in males and females.

Where Do White-tailed Deer Live?

White-tailed deer have a variety of habitats in that it exists in northwestern range of Canada, Central America, North America, Peru, Mexico, Finland, Texas, and Florida. These animals like to inhabit in the open savanna woodlands as well as areas with small openings.

Apart from these places, these species are the inhabitants of deciduous river valley of the Eastern United States. They are reluctant to exist within the range of Glacier National Park, Yoho National Park, and Kootenay National Park. Some of the species prefer to dwell in the tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests and savanna together with moist broadleaf forests.

White-tailed deer also reside at the high-elevation areas. The population of deer is known to reside in the Northern Scandinavia, Southern Karelia, and Minnesota.

White-tailed Deer Facts | Predators.

White-tailed deer have number of predators including cougars, wolves, American Alligators jaguars, bears, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, wolverines, and tigers. The young deer are also known to be preyed upon by Hawks, Eagles, foxes, Vultures, and corvids.

White-tailed Deer

What Do White-tailed Deer Eat?

White-tailed deer diet includes a variety of nutrients including plants and leaves. These animals predominantly rely on grasses, legumes, plants fruits, acorns and corns. These species also eat mushrooms and red sumac which is very poisonous. These deer are the opportunistic feeders and they also eat some birds to fulfill their nutritional needs.

White-tailed Facts | Reproduction

The estrus cycle ranges from October to November.
Females reach the age of maturity after 1 – 2 years of birth.
Females litter 1 – 3 young deer, mainly in the months of May to June. Fawns tend to lose their markings during summer. The weight of the fawns is about 44 – 77 pounds (20 – 35 kg). Female fawns are slightly shorter and less-heavier as compared to the male fawns. These fawns are weaned after 60 – 70 days.

Species

O. v. couesi
O. v. curassavicus
O. v. dacotensis
O. v. goudotii
O. v. gymnotis
O. v. macrourus
O. v. margaritae
O. v. mcilhennyi
O. v. mexicanus
O. v. miquihuanensis
O. v. nemoralis
O. v. nigribarbis
O. v. oaxacensis
O. v. ochrourus
O. v. osceola
O. v. peruvianus
O. v. rothschildi
O. v. seminolus
O. v. sinaloae
O. v. taurinsulae
O. v. texanus
O. v. truei
O. v. thomasi
O. v. toltecus
O. v. tropicalis
O. v. ustus
O. v. venatorius
O. v. veraecrucis
O. v. yucatanensis

White-tailed Deer Facts | Videos

Deer White-tailed Deer

Artiodactyla (Even-toed ungulates), Eutheria (Placental mammals), Mammals