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White Tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
by Mark Walker
Body length- 850-2050mm
Lifespan-10-15years
Tail length- 100-350mm
Weight- 25-200kg
In America the White-tailed Deer fills the niche that in Europe is filled by the Roe Deer. It is essentially a woodland deer, which is happy along woodland and meadowland edges. Because of its adaptability, it has easily spread across agricultural lands, and its numbers have increased rapidly as a result.

The White-tailed Deer has 2 main characteristics, which make it easy to differentiate from other deer. As its name implies it has a large white tail and large white rump markings. Its tail can be fanned out as a warning signal when it is disturbed. This will often be the only part of a white-tailed deer that people see! It also has special antlers, which have an unusual curved shape. The antlers possess numerous backwards tines, up to 28, the longest of which can be 79cm long. The White-tailed Deer is an essentially a territorial deer, and is normally found either singly or in only small groups. In winter though, larger groups can form.

The White-tailed deer has a very large distribution across America and is found from the south of Brazil to the north of Canada. It is found in most of North America, except for some areas of the west. Because of this large distribution, numerous sub-species have inevitably developed. There are 39 recognised sub-species and these can vary quite distinctly from each other. The largest White-tailed Deer live in the north, and deer living around New York can weigh upto 200kg. However in the South they are much smaller. For example the smallest sub-species is found on an island in Florida and can weigh as little as 25kg. The White-taield Deer has been introduced into Europe

The life cycle of the deer depends to a certain extent on where they live. The tropical and sub-tropical sub-species can become pregnant and give birth all year round. In the North the females give birth in early spring after a pregnancy of about 200 days. Unusually for deer twins are relatively common occurrences and even 4 young can be born, however this is rarer. In the North the rut begins in November.

Also, unusually they make a strange hissing sound, or whistling when disturbed unlike the more usual deer sounds. The White-tailed Deer eats twigs, leaves, grass, berries, nuts, but will also take agricultural produce such as apples or maize. The White-tailed Deer is a popular hunting animal in the USA, however this hunting pressure has not affected the population of the White-tailed deer, and they remain the most common ungulate in North America a. The White-tailed Deer has been introduced into Europe successfully, notably into Czechoslovakia and Finland. It has also been introduced into New Zealand.
A single white tailed deer
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