The Whitetail Deer

If you live somewhere in the continental U.S., chances are you've seen and recognized a whitetail deer before. Growing up in the southeast, I remember seeing a number of whitetails in the backyards of our home, on roads, and in the woods. Sometimes they would be by themselves, other times there would be groups of half a dozen or more. These beautiful animals have become a symbol of North American tradition and a way of life.

How To Recognize a Whitetail Deer

The easiest way to recognize a whitetail (aka Virginia deer) is by looking for their soft white tail. When spooked, the whitetail will run and raise their tail as a signal to others that danger is in the area. Typically a whitetails neck, underside, ears, and parts of their face has this same white coloring.

The body coat of a whitetail is typically a reddish-brown color that changes to the a grayish brown later in the year. Interesting enough, the hair on a whitetail deer is actually hollow. Their hollow hair gives them bouyancy in water, which is why they are capable swimmers.

Albino Whitetail Deer

Some whitetail deer, known as albinos, are born with a rare genetic abnormality (about 1 in 30,000) that makes them white from head to toe, except their pink nose, eyes, and ears. The exact cause for their snow-white bodies is that they were born without body pigment.

Where The Whitetail Deer Lives

The whitetail deer are found throughout the continental United States (except Nevada, Utah, and California), parts of Canada  and parts of Central and South America. They are most commonly found east of the Rocky Mountains where their population thrives, but can still be found on the western side as well. The mule deer and blacktail deer are found more commonly west of the Rocky Mountains.

Some countries, such as New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and Finland, have successfully introduced the whitetail into their ecosystems. Whitetail  deer adapt well and have a high success rate when introduced into new areas.

Most whitetail deer tend to live in thick wooded forests where they have cover and protection from natural predators. However, whitetail have adapted well to other environments, including open plains, prairies, and savannas. Whitetails will usually stay in an area of a one mile radius unless threatened, spooked, or lacking food or water.

Diet of The Whitetail Deer

Whitetails are herbivores, meaning they only eat vegetation and plant-based material. Their diet consists of what's available for them to forage in their current environment. A normal diet for a whitetail would consist of green leafy plants in the spring and summer, and acorns, corn, and parts of trees in the winter.

Like other deer, whitetails are ruminants, meaning they have a four chamber stomach. Each chamber acts as its own stomach, serving a specific purpose of digesting the food before continuing to the next. This gives the whitetail the ability to digest things that people can't, such as poisonous mushrooms and twigs.

Whitetail Deer Mating

Whitetail deer usually mate in the months of October and November when females reach sexual maturation (usually between 1 to 2 years of age), also known as the "rut". This time of the year raises the bucks testosterone level, making them more excited and more active. They will grunt to communicate, mark their territory, and it's not uncommon for them to fight by charging at each other antlers first to gain mating rights with a nearby doe. When the doe gives birth, they generally give birth to one to three spotted baby deer known as "fawns". By the end of their first summer, the fawns will lose their spots.

The male whitetail deer are known as "bucks" and the females are known as "does". The bucks will start growing antlers the first year they are born. They will grow one antler on each side of their skull, called "spikes". These antlers will fall off between late winter and early spring and larger, more complex antlers will begin to grow. This cycle continues, making the antlers grow larger each year. Whitetail doe's don't have antlers and will never produce them.

Whitetail Deer Hunting

Seen as inhumane by some people, it's important for the hunting community to keep the whitetail deer population regulated. Native Americans hunted the whitetail deer and depended on it as a major source of food, hide, and supplies. Since whitetails adapt and thrive so well, it's easy for them to consume all the resources in an area without the aid of hunters. This is common in areas such as New York, where firearm ownership is illegal.