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"The White-tailed Deer is very cunning and well suited for its environment. With very acute sight and smell combined with those ever alert ears, it is hard to get close to one in the wild!"
Scientific Name -
Odocoileus virginianus
RANGE - North America, Central America, Northern South America & Southern Canada
LIFESPAN - 6 to 8 years
DIET - Wide variety of plant materials.
WEIGHT - Avg. 130-220 lbs.
STATUS - Doing Well
PROTECTION - Managed
Hunted during season.
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The White-tailed deer is a medium-sized deer found in Tennessee and throughout most of the U.S., southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Although absent from most of the western U.S., it does survive in river bottomlands within the Central and Northern Great Plains. White-tailed deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. Although most often thought of as forest animals, white-tailed deer can live in more open areas. The deer's coat is reddish-brown in the spring and summer then turns to a greyish brown in the fall and winter. The deer can be recognized by the white underside of its tail, which shows as a signal of alarm when raised. The male (or buck) usually weighs from 130 to 220 pounds but, in rare cases, in excess of 350 pounds. The female (or doe) usually weighs from 90 to 130 pounds but some can weigh as much as 165 to 175 pounds. Males one year of age and older begin growing antlers in early spring. The antlers are covered with a tissue known as velvet, which is composed of thousands of vessels used to grow the antlers. The buck uses his antlers when sparring with other males to determine dominance and breeding rights. Females enter estrus (or rut), ussually in late October or early November, which is triggered by declining daylight. Sexual maturation of does depend on the population in that area. Females can mature in the first year, although unusual and would occur only with very low populations. Most females mature at one or two years of age. Bucks will attempt to mate with as many females as possible, at great physical cost, since they hardly eat or rest during the rut. When all of the females in the area have mated, the bucks will start to loose thier antlers. In mid to late spring, females give birth to one, two or possibly three spotted young, known as fawns. Fawns lose their spots during their first summer and will weigh from 44 to 77 pounds by winter. Whitetails communicate in several ways including sounds, scents, and markings.
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