White tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

The White-tailed deer is commonly known at the continent of America but is also introduced to some countries in Europe. This is a medium-sized deer also known to be the Virginia deer. Deriving from its name, this deer is easily distinguished by its white underside seen when the deer raises its tail as a sign of escape.

Photo credits to: http://resources.waza.org/

Physical Description and Characteristics

The white-tailed deer changes its color during two different seasons: it is tanned or brown during the summer and grayish-brown in the winter. The male species known as stag or buck have antlers and can weigh up to 130 kilograms. Also, the white tailed-deer have dichromatic vision compared to trichromatic vision in humans. They cannot easily distinguish red and orange colors. There are rare cases when females have antlers; usually associated with the condition called hermaphroditism. All white-tailed deer have white coloration on their nose, around their eyes and in the neck.

Habitat

White-tailed deer are considered to be generalists and are able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats. They mostly occur in wooded areas, but can also be found living in savanna and sage communities in Mexico. Living in savanna areas caused some body adaptations to deer like having large antlers. Deer and humans can both share the same habitat, but there have to be someone dominating.

Behavior and Feeding

White-tailed deer have the behavior of raising its tail showing its white underside when threatened. They can also do some warning signals to other deer like stamping of hooves and snorting. White-tailed deer are active at night, but they are not completely nocturnal. They do not sleep for long periods of time and do not bed on the same position even twice of their life. Whitetails communicate by using vocalizations and by means of their scents.

White-tailed deer are herbivores and their diet primarily depends on their habitat and the time of the year. For example, when summer their primary diet consists of green plants while they eat nuts and corns in the fall. They have a special kind of stomach making them able to eat foods that humans cannot. They are ruminant—having four chambers in their stomach that makes them eat a variety of food.

Antlers

One defining feature of Whitetails is their antlers. It is proven that this asset is a sign of dominance for a male deer. The more branched antler they have, the more attractive they are for does. Antlers are composed of bone and regrow every spring time.