Kinds of Deer

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Kinds of Deer
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Thank you for visiting our site. visiting the Deer Society. We are a non profit, public service organization devoted to the promotion of hunting and target shooting, the right to keep and bear arms, the protection of wildlife, and the preservation of wildlife habitats for use by all people.

Whitetail Deer
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Courtesey of the Encyclopedia Britainica
Whitttail deer, also called Virginia Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), common woodland deer, family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla), ranging from southern Canada to South America. "White-tailed deer" refers to the white underside of the tail, which is held aloft like a signaling flag when the animal is alarmed or running. An important game animal, the white-tailed deer generally lives alone or in small groups; in winter, a number may gather together, trampling down the snow in an area that then is known as a deer "yard."
The white-tailed deer tends to be larger in northern areas and can stand as high as 106 cm (3 1/2 feet) at the shoulder and weigh up to 180 kg (400 pounds), and, in rare cases, more than 225 kg (500 pounds). The adult white-tailed deer has a bright reddish brown summer coat and a duller grayish brown winter coat; the underparts are white. The male has forwardly curved antlers that bear a number of unbranched tines. It thrives in open woodland (though not in mature forests), cutover forests, and woodlots on the fringes of urban areas and in farming country, often turning to orchards and other cultivated vegetation for food. Its diet includes leaves, twigs, and fruits or nuts of most vegetation, as well as lichens and other fungi.
The large whitetail was a boon to the first settlers in America because they could utilize ver scrap of meat, hide, tendons and bone in their effort to survive.
Unrestricted hunting placed the whitetail population in danger during the 1800s. However, the white-tailed deer had by the mid-20th century been restored to abundance by game management measures throughout North America. Of the many subspecies, the Key deer of Florida, smallest of the white-tails, stands 76 cm (30 inches) or less at the shoulder and weighs less than 23 kg (50 pounds); formerly close to extinction, the Key deer has recovered in population as a result of protective measures. In some areas, deer are now so prevalent that they are a nuisance.

b>Description:
The white-tailed deer is named for its most distinctive feature, the large white tail or "flag" that is often all you see as the animal bounds away through tall grass. The color of the deer's upper body and sides changes with the season, from a generally reddish-brown in summer to buff in winter. Its belly and the underside of its tail are completely white, and it has a white patch on the throat. The deer sheds its hair twice a year, its heavy winter coat giving way to a lighter one in spring which is replaced again in early fall. A fawn's coat is similar to the adult's but has several hundred white spots which gradually disappear when the deer is three to four months old.
Fawns are born in late spring and summer and by early November a male fawn weighs about 85 pounds and a female about 80 pounds. Yearling bucks average 150 pounds, while does of the same age average about 20 percent less, or about 120 pounds. Some older bucks weigh 200 pounds or more when field dressed (about 250 pounds live weight) and the heaviest Nebraska whitetail on record was 287 pounds field dressed (about 355 pounds live weight).
A buck fawn has bumps on his skull where antlers will grow when he is older. Yearling bucks may have one to six points on each antler, and, based on 2,272 deer checked in 1990, average a total of almost six points on both antlers. Studies show that 20 percent of the yearling bucks have four points on each antler; 19 percent have three points on each antler; while about six percent have only spikes instead of fully-developed antlers. Antler development is dependant on nutrition, and when nutrition is poor, 50 percent or more of the
Large "typical" bucks can have seven or more points on a side. The more points a deer has, the older and tougher it tends to be so if you are going to use the meat for anything other than hamburger, it is better to get the smaller deer with fewer points.
Most buck fawns develop "buttons" by the fall of their first year, which are generally not visible above the hairline. These are hardened antlers which are shed. Subsequent antlers are also shed each year. Antler growth begins normally in April to early May. The new antlers are tender and velvet covered, with the velvet shed in early September on almost all bucks. An occasional male, possible one-half of one percent, does not shed the velvet at all.
The time of antler shedding varies among individual deer and somewhat by area. Most bucks drop their racks in January and February, but rarely may carry them into early May. Contrary to some opinions, numbers of points are no indication of age, but are of some value in judging the animal's condition.
Distribution and Abundance:
The white-tailed deer is the most abundant and most widely distributed big game animal in North America. It is the most common species in the Eastern half of Nebraska and is more abundant than mule deer even on some of the westernmost streams.
Whitetails were probably eliminated from many of the plains states by about 1900 due to lack of protection and the frontier ethic I might as well kill it or someone else will. Return of the whitetails was due to change in attitudes and protection. The recovery has been a gradual spread of the animals from other areas although a few may have remained present at the time.
Most deer are taken by farmers. Hunters' records are limited primarily to hunting seasons. Harvest have gradually increased in recent years due to the proliferation of deer throughout the US.
Habitat and Home
The best deer habitat is near or along local streams and their associated breaks. This prime deer habitat consists of deciduous trees, primarily maple, ash, willow, elm and box elder and cottonwood in the west. Oak and red cedar occur along some valleys, while basswood, and walnut are seldom present. Evergreens are a favorite in the winter. Associated shrubby vegetation includes plum, sumac, chokecherry, snowberry, coralberry, and several other species. River breaks are often characterized by deep gullies and ridges with generally sparse woody growth.
Throughout the east, are thousands of miles of abandoned farms. A combination of hardwood trees, juniperr and shrubs is usually found in these plantings. They are often used by deer for cover, though perhaps only on a seasonal basis if they are located considerable distances from more extensive cover.
Woody cover provides the best whitetail habitat, though it is not essential for their survival. Grasslands are usually visited at night as there is little cover. Dense areas formerly used as crop producing lands, such as those in conservation programs have increased whitetail distribution in recent years.
Deer are not grazing animals. However, corn crops are a reliable year-round food source of food and provide a sea of cover from July through October or November. Deer may use cornfields for summer but they must retreat to permanent cover for protection from weather and predators after harvest is completed.
Habits
In some areas where cover is extensive and other requirements are met, a deer may live its entire life and die within one or a few square miles. However most go to the food supply particularly like orchards in the Fall. The average movement evn in the crowded east may be up to 40 miles with the deer Free Travel Infoling mainly at night.
Deer move most often and for the greatest distances during spring and fall. In late spring, does may Free Travel Info in search of fawning sites, although adult females move less than other deer. Greater Free Travel Infos are made by yearlings, on their own for the first time. Free Travel Info increases in fall after the harvest, as deer leave croplands and begin mating activities.
Whitetails have developed keen senses to help them avoid predation. They depend on scent, particularly in thick cover, but also have excellent hearing and sight.
Because of their behavior and the habitat they prefer, whitetails are less vulnerable to hunting than are mule deer. Tagging studies show that whitetail bucks were only one-third as likely to be bagged as mule deer in the same general area.
Foods
Corn and other agricultural crops constitute from 100 to 50 percent of the whitetail's year-round diet depending on the area; Midwest more, East less. . Native foods that make up the bulk of deer diet include woody vegetation in spring and fall. Although whitetails can obviously subsist entirely on native foods, they apparently have a preference for farm crops, which constitute the biggest management problem in agricultural states - balancing deer numbers so as to satisfy both hunter demand and landowner tolerance.
Reproduction
With good health and good nutrition, whitetail deer are prolific breeders. Examination of ova 600 does in Nebraska has shown about 60 percent breed as fawns (when they are about six months old) and virtually all of the older deer produce young. At least a portion of the buck fawns are capable of reproduction. Breeding commences in mid October and peaks in mid-to-late November for adults, and about one month later for fawns. A buck may mate with up to 20 does. Fawns are born after a gestation period of about 201 days, from early May through late September, with about 60 percent of the total born in June.
Does bred when less than a year of age normally produce a single fawn, with 10 percent of them bearing twins. Older does average almost two fawns - 67 percent have twins, 21 percent have single fawns and 12 percent have triplets. This means that about 140 fawns are born for every 100 does in the population.
The Whitetail's reproductive rate is quite high when compared to the mule deer's, which is about 94 fawns per 100 does per year. Only about seven percent of mule deer does breed as fawns. A year later, 94 percent of whitetails and only 68 percent of mule deer become pregnant as yearlings. About 79 percent of pregnant whitetail does carry twins or triplets, while only 52 percent of pregnant mule deer does have multiple births.
At birth, a female fawn weighs about 5 1/2 pounds, and a male about 7 1/2 pounds. A fawn is capable of walking shortly after birth, but its movement is limited during the first few days. When the fawn is two or three weeks old, it begins eating vegetation in addition to nursing. A fawn is normally weaned when it is about four months old, but is capable of surviving without milk at three months or less. About 30 percent of the fawns do not survive until fall.
Importance
The white-tailed deer is the most important big game animal in North America. Annual harvest exceeds 300,000 in several states where they are deliberately bred for hunting.
The monetary impact is also substantial. Deer hunters spent about $60 million for permits alone in 1990. The total amount spent on whitetail hunting and associated activities in Nebraska is probably over $200 million annually. The enjoyment provided by looking for and watching deer and the time spent in photographing them is of inestimable value.
Landowner losses of growing or stored agricultural crops can be substantial, although protective measures such as haystack location, fencing and deer repellents often reduce these to tolerable levels. However, the most effective control is through harvest by hunters.
Hunting
Hunting has proliferated I recent years. To be successful the hunter must know the deer's habits and be able to recognize sign that signals a buck is in the area. One sure sign that a buck is in the vicinity is a rub " a branch or sapling that has been stripped of its bark by a buck knocking the velvet from its antlers. Later in the fall, as the rut approaches, fresh sign of this antlerwork may appear on larger, harder trees, as restless bucks shape up their fighting skills.
An even better sign that a buck is around is an active scrape. This is where a buck has pawed the leaves and grass away, exposing a patch of bare earth from one to three feet in diameter. He generously applies his scent and tracks in the scrape, which serves as a signal to does that he is in the area and available, and warns other bucks that this is his territory and they'd better stay out, or risk a fight. A buck fully caught up in the fever of the rut may have several scrapes which he checks frequently, or he may post just one and stay nearby. Whichever is the case, the scrape that is being renewed and maintained is a sure sign that a buck will be along sooner or later, and that it merits careful consideration on the part of the hunter.
Of all the sign a hunter is likely to come across, deer tracks are the most obvious and are also the most misused and misunderstood by the novice hunter. A lot of greenhorn deer hunters are likely to latch onto the first set of tracks they find and spend the rest of the day following them, almost invariably without seeing the deer.
Tracks are a valuable sign to a hunter, chiefly as an indication of the frequency and the deer's direction of Free Travel Info. They might also give an indication of the size of the deer using an area. Generally, they provide a lot of the same information as do droppings.
Some hunters claim they can distinguish tracks of bucks from those of does, but other experienced hunters discount this. Generally, the tracks of bucks and does look identical, although a hunter tracking a deer might surmise he's on the trail of a buck if it is Free Travel Infoing alone and sticking to more secluded or secretive haunts.
Following a set of tracks in hopes of getting a shot at the deer making the tracks is an iffy game, and is a tactic mastered by only a few specialists. Most hunters follow a trail too slowly or make too much noise to be successful. And, a lot of hunters cannot distinguish a really fresh track, and thus may take up on a trail half a day old or more.
Most hunters following deer tracks pay way too much attention to the impressions themselves and almost forget to look for the deer standing in the tracks. Experienced trackers look for the most distant visible sign, giving it just a glance while keeping their eyes on cover ahead, while being ready for a shot. They also look behind, because deer often double back on their trail to see if they are being pursued.
About the only time most hunters will need to track a deer is after they have taken a shot at one. Hunters' Ethics demand that if the deer doesn't go down, the hunter should check where the deer was standing when the shot was fired, looking for blood, hair, or other signs of a hit. If none is apparent, he should take up the track for a few hundred yards, looking for blood on the ground, bushes and trees the deer may have brushed against, or for signs of staggering, limping or other evidence of a hit.
As always the deer should be field dressed as quickly as possible so that the meat cools rapidly. This insures flavorful, high quality meat for the table.

Mule Deer
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Mule Deer are found in western North America from Alaska to Mexico. A valued game animal, prized for its flesh, hide, and antlers, the mule deer lives alone or in small groups, sometimes gathering in larger herds in winter, in rough, mountainous terrain, and also in desert regions. The mule deer is migratory; it seeks lower altitudes during the winter months and returns to its summer pastures long after the snow has melted.
The mule deer is stockier than the related white-tailed deer (O. virginianus). It stands 90-105 cm (3-3.5 feet) at the shoulder and is yellowish to reddish brown in summer, grayish brown in winter. The tail is white with a black tip, except in the black-tailed deer (O. hemionus columbianus), a subspecies of the Pacific Northwest in which the tail is black on the entire upper surface. The male has antlers that fork twice above a short tine near the base; a mature male normally bears five tines on each antler.

Classification
Within the class of animals we call mammals there are 2 groups of animals that walk on hooves. These animals are commonly called Ungulates, from the Latin unguis, meaning claw or toe nail. The hooves are simply highly developed toe nails upon which these animals walk. The order Artiodactyla contains all ungulates with an even number of toes (2 or 4) such as cattle, deer, goats, antelope, pigs, and camels. The name for these animals which walk on an even number of toes comes from the Greek Artios = even, and daktulos = a finger or toe.
There are nine families within Artiodactyla but only four occur naturally in North America: Bovidae (sheep, cattle, goats, bison), Antilocapridae (pronghorn antelope), Tayassuidae (collared peccary/javelina), and Cervidae (deer, elk, moose).
The deer family (Cervidae) includes all moose, elk/red deer, aribou/reindeer, Eurasian deer, and medium-sized American deer. Cervids, as members of the family are called, no longer have a digit #1 (thumb or big toe) and walk on the hooves (toe nails) of the 3rd and 4th toes. The 2nd and 5th toes have been reduced and assume a nonfunctioning role as the short toes we call dew claws.
Worldwide, there are about 17 genera in the deer family, but only Alces (moose), Rangifer (caribou), Cervus (elk), and Odocoileus (deer) are found in the United States. The Genus Odocoileus includes the only two species of medium-sized deer in the United States: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). The genus name Odocoileus comes from the hollow pits, called infundibula, in the chewing surface of the premolars and molars; Odous means tooth and koilos means hollow
Description
The mule deer was first described in North America in 1817 based on the field notes made by Charles LeRaye while he was a captive of the Sioux tribe on the Big Sioux River in South Dakota. The scientific name hemionus literally means half-mule because its ears are so big they were said to resemble a mule's.
Adult males of this medium-sized member of the deer family can range from 150 to 300 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall at the shoulder. Besides having larger ears, mule deer differ from whitetails in several ways. The most commonly mentioned difference -- but not the best characteristic -- is the unique antler shape. Mule deer antlers have small or missing browtines with main beams that sweep out and upward, forking once and then each fork divides again in mature bucks (dichotomous branching). Mature bucks typically have eight total points or 10 if the browtines are present (four point western count). It is not at all unusual for whitetails to have forked tines like a mule deer or to see a mule deer with all tines arising from the mainnbeam; antlers can not be relied on whole identifying characteristic.
Mule deer tails appear rope-like and are usually (not always) white on the back side with a distinctive black tip surrounded by a large, obvious white rump. Some mule deer may have a thin black line running along the back (dorsal) side of the tail. Mule deer along the west coast differ from inland mule deer by the presence of a dark dorsal (back) surface of the tail (similar to whitetails) and relatively short metatarsal glands on the hind legs; these deer are referred to as black-tailed deer.
The mule deer does not flag its tail and normally bounces away in a motion called stotting where all four hooves push off at the same time. Blacktails, which live in habitat more similar to whitetails, may lift their tails but do flag in the same manner as whitetails. Mule deer escape behavior is not as fast as a whitetail's, but in rugged terrain it is effective in keeping bstacles between the predator and itself.
The breeding season (rut) occurs in the late fall (November-December)with single or twin fawns born in the summer (June-August). Males grow antlers covered with a skin called ‘velvet' throughout the summer. In the early fall (August-September) the velvet dries and is rubbed off to reveal the bony, sharp antlers in time for the rut. The antlers are shed in spring and regrown annually, with antler size increasing each year until peaking when the buck reaches 6-8 years of age.
Mule deer are primarily browsers, with a majority of their diet comprised of weeds and leaves/twigs of brush. Mule deer have a small rumen and must forage on high quality foods. Frequently high quality foods are those that are green and growing. Mule deer will eat grass especially when the grass is green and actively growing. Like cows and other animals with a 4-chambered stomach, deer process food by chewing cud (ruminating). This reprocessing of food, along with beneficial bacteria in the stomach, allows deer to digest fibrous leaves and twigs. Populations in mountainous areas migrate seasonally from higher summer elevations to snow-free lower winter ranges.
Distribution
Mule deer (including the blacktails) are distributed throughout North America from the coastal islands of Alaska to the Mexican State of Zacatecas. With this wide latitudinal range, comes a great diversity of different climatic regimes and vegetation associations. Mule deer are very adaptable in their ability to make a living in coastal rain forests (200 inches of rain per year), icy mountains, prairie grasslands, and hot southwest deserts (4 inches of rain per year). With this range of habitats, comes an incredibly diverse diet that defies generalization.

Many species vary from one portion of its range to another. These variations come about as individuals in localized areas adapt to habitat, forage, or climatic conditions they are exposed to. Depending on the source, there have been between 7 and 11 subspecies of mule deer described in North America. Many of these were deemed different based on only a few individuals and the overlap in characteristics among most subspecies is so great that no list of differences can be written that will allow biologists or hunters to differentiate them. without geographic separation between subspecies, maps of their boundaries are merely crude attempts to describe regional differences throughout the range of mule deer.

Coues Deer
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Coues Whitetail Deer
Everything there is to know about Coues White-tailed Deer, the small subspecies of whitetail found in the Southwest. It has info on their biology, hunting tactics, equipment, record books, recipes and more.

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