Chin whiskers tell deer exactly how far from the ground their lips are when feeding. © 2020 Grand View Outdoors All Rights Reserved This signals predator detection and alerts other deer. A newborn fawn can stand in about 20 minutes, walk in one hour, run a bit in 24 hours and outrun a man in five days. |, Best Airgun Rifles for Hunting Urban Predators, How to Choose Between Night Vision Or Thermal Optics, Scientific facts about how deer see and hear. This weakens them going into winter, when they are very vulnerable to extreme cold and deep snow. The white-tailed deer has a reddish-brown coat in the spring and summer and a gray-brown coat in autumn and winter. Males spar with their antlers to compete for females. They can also run up to about 50 mph for short distances. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Does may become sexually mature at 6 months of age, but typically do not leave their mother or breed until their second year. Stay with us to know more facts about whitetail deer antlers. On average, mature specimens range from 6 to 8 feet in length, with a shoulder height around 2 to 4 feet. The whitetail deer can live up to 4.5 years in the wild and 14 years in captivity. If you don't want to bring your iPad into the bathroom, we can send you a magazine subscription for free! These deer are the most widespread wild ungulate, or hoofed mammal, in the Americas. Females give birth to one to three spotted fawns in spring. The white-tailed deer is the most popular wild game animal in North America. Deer cause economic damage to farmers and pose a threat to motorists. Here are 10 Fast Facts you may not know. The mother hides her fawns in vegetation, returning to nurse them four or five times a day. Did I mention that they also eat mighty good? Adult buck antlers start to grow around the last of March or early April, and grow at the rate of about a quarter-inch per day. The opposite of dogs, whitetail deer only wag their tails when they’re startled. Deer are preyed upon by wolves, pumas, American alligators, bears, coyotes, lynx, bobcats, wolverines, and feral dogs. Antler size and branching is determined by age, nutrition, and genetics. A 150-pound deer needs to eat 12 pounds of food in a 24 hour period over most of the year. In many of them, populations are booming, hunting seasons are long, whitetail deer can be hunted with a variety of weapons and good hunting can be found on public land as well as private properties. A whitetail deer can jump up to nearly four feet high and 30 feet long. Females form family groups with a mother and her fawns. Over most of the year, whitetails remain bedded for up to 70 percent of the day, usually feeding five times every 24 hours. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) gets its name for the white fur on the underside of its tail, which it flashes when it senses a threat. Join other outdoor enthusiasts who already get great content delivered right to their inbox. They are hunted for game and sport and farmed for meat, pelts, and antlers. Deer have adapted to a variety of habitats, including urban environments. Young are weaned around 8 to 10 weeks of age. In the United States, the black-tailed or mule deer displaces the white-tailed deer west of the Rocky Mountains. White-tailed deer eat plants, including grasses, legumes, leaves, shoots, cacti, corn, fruit, and acorns. When it comes to big game hunting in North America, there’s no doubt that the whitetail deer rules the roost. 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T42394A22162580.en, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College, Common Names: White-tailed deer, whitetail, Virginia deer, Habitat: North, Central, and northern South America. Younger bucks begin growing their antlers a little later and at a slower rate. Just like humans, an adult deer has 32 teeth. They’re called whitetail (also white-tailed) because of the white underside of the deer's tail, which it displays and wags when it senses danger and to communicate with other deer. Read on to learn about the whitetail deer. Deer size depends on sex and habitat. Here's one: by day five of a deer’s life, they can already outrun man. An adult whitetail deer reaches a size of 6 to 7 feet long. Bucks leave their mothers and mature at about 1.5 years of age. Quick Facts. They’re called whitetail (also white-tailed) because of the white underside of the deer's tail, which it displays and wags when it senses danger and to communicate with other deer. They are from kingdom Animalia and white-tailed deer scientific name is Odocoileus Virginianus, family Cervidae and phylum Chordata. The life expectancy of a white-tailed deer ranges from 6 to 14 years. Related: Video: Can deer fight to the death? Essential Facts. The species includes several subspecies, such as the tiny Florida Key deer and the large northern white-tailed deer. Bucks regrow antlers each year in spring and shed them after the breeding season in winter. Related: Hunting whitetail deer in the rain. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to both the Nearctic and Neotropical regions.. The animal needs time to develop gut microbes to digest new food as its diet changes, so feeding deer a food that is not found in the wild may harm it. Mature females, called hinds or does, range from 88 to 200 pounds. Deer in colder climates are larger than those found closer to the equator. These frequently sighted animals have a number of sub-species throughout their range. How much do you know about Odocoileus virginianus, the whitetail deer? The species is easily recognized by the white underside of its tail. While white-tailed deer are primarily herbivores, they are also opportunistic predators that will take mice and birds. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) gets its name for the white fur on the underside of its tail, which it flashes when it senses a threat.The species includes several subspecies, such as the tiny Florida Key deer and the large northern white-tailed deer. Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. The biggest reason for this is simple: with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, California, Nevada, and Arizona (the exception there being the Coues whitetail), whitetails exist in all the remaining states. Endangered Species Act. They can eat mushrooms and poison ivy with no ill effects. Factors: nutritious food, increasing buck age and good genes allowed the white-tailed deer has 32.... To about 50 mph for short distances and 30 feet long yellow vision sometimes... 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