White-tailed Deer

The adult whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus) is a large animal that varies in size depending on what part of the country they inhabit.  Weights vary from around 100 to over 350 pounds, with heights between 2 to 3.5 feet at the shoulders.  Adult males called “bucks” are usually larger then females, called “does.”   Their size and weight is related to the quality of deer habitat. 

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Whitetails are very adaptable and can be found throughout most of North America in both rural and urban environments.  Expanding deer populations have been attributed to a declining number of “non-human” predators and improved habitat conditions.  A doe can have one, two, or three fawns annually and breed as a yearling.  Generally, fawns are born in May or June, though some have been reported arriving as late as August, presumably in heavily-hunted areas with few bucks.  The onset of rut is queued by shortening daylight length.  Typically, peak rut occurs in November, though it can occur earlier or later depending on the geographic location, weather, and other factors. 

One visible feature of whitetails is the flash of a white tail when deer detect danger.  This behavior is how they achieved their name.  The color of the whitetail’s upper body changes with the seasons. In the spring and summer, deer are reddish-brown.  In fall and winter, the color changes to a lighter gray.

Whitetails have an acute sense of hearing.  A strange sound will trigger the animal’s immediate escape response. Their color vision is limited, but they can detect the slightest movement around them. 

For several months of the year, bucks can be easily distinguished from does or fawns by their antlers. Antler growth starts in early spring when the base of the pedicel begins to enlarge. During the period of growth the antler is covered in a soft skin and short hair. The antlers continue to grow until August or September, when nerves, tissues, and blood vessels die. Then the bony core of the antlers hardens and the covering sloughs off. Bucks usually shed their antlers in January or February.  Antler development is largely determined by a combination of factors, in particular age, nutrition and genetics.