Even if you don’t understand what they are, odds are you’ve seen a whitetail deer sometime in your lifetime. They are the most common and widespread deer species on the planet. Their population in North America alone is between 20 and 25 million.
The whitetail deer gets its name from the cotton-white colored fur on their tail and rear end. When spooked or endangered, they will raise their tail and run, showing off their white as an alarm.
Like the other species of deer, the whitetail is a herbivore, meaning that they only consume plants. Their diet will change based on the food that’s available to them in their environment, but typically includes grass, plants, acorns, fruit, and corn.
The stomach of whitetail is similar to a cow in the sense that it has multiple chambers for digestion. By way of example, when a whitetail consumes and swallows some acorns, they’ll go to first room where enzymes will begin to break down the food before going to another where they will be broken down even more until reaching the fourth room where the true digestion takes place.
If a whitetail remains healthy, they can live 11 to 13 years on average. They do have several predators that actively hunt them out, though. Their natural defense mechanism is make grunting sounds, stomp with hooves, and when nothing else works, run away.
When a female (doe) is pregnant, she will give birth to 1 to 3 baby deer (fawns). Fawns are able to walk at birth and usually have brown with white spotted fur that lets them blend into their surroundings better.
Male deer (called bucks) grow antlers from the base of the skull each year. Bucks use these antlers to demonstrate their strength when they battle other dollars throughout the breeding season. Following the breeding season is over, the bucks testosterone level will fall much, making them shed their antlers. When spring comes back around, they will start to grow new antlers that are usually larger and more complex than the ones that were already shed.
Something not many people know is that deer cause more human deaths than any other animal. This is mainly due to automobile accidents involving them. While it may seem inhumane to some, hunting is a excellent way to help regulate their population and reduce the deaths and crop damage due to them.
Whitetail deer are just beautiful creatures and it is important for us to always understand and respect them. Almost a century ago, they were on the verge of extinction, but with conservation efforts their population has skyrocketed. Let us take care of our planet and all the creatures in it.