White-tailed Buck Photos by Bruce Dayton - White-tailed Buck Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

ORDER: Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
FAMILY: Cervidae (Deer)
SPECIES: White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

White-tailed Buck Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
The White-tailed deer is a medium-sized deer and can be found in southern Canada and most of the continental United States, (very few can be found in California, Nevada, Idaho and parts of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.) The Mule Deer range in most of the western states from Oklahoma north to North Dakota and westward. - White-tails are cautious and wary animals with highly developed senses of sight, smell, and hearing. They are extremely agile and are great runners, swimmers and jumpers. - Male (bucks) grow and shed a set of antlers each year. - Male bucks may live in groups consisting of three or four individuals, except in mating season, when they go out individually looking for a mate. - The White-tailed Deer can make vertical leaps of over 8 feet . -
SIZE	An average adult White-tailed buck weighs between 100 and 150 pounds live weight and stands 32 to 34 inches at the shoulder. Size and weight vary greatly in the White-tailed Deer depending on the the region where it is found. Some whitetail deer from the northern United States and Canada may weigh as much as 350 pounds.
DESCRIPTION	The white-tail was so named because the underside of its tail is covered with white hair and is displayed (Flag) when the deer is running. The belly, throat, areas around the eyes and insides of the ears are white all year long. Hair color is alike in both sexes. The summer coat consists of short, thin hairs that are reddish-brown in color and the the heavy winter coat is longer, grayish brown hairs over a short wooly undercoat. Sexual Dimorphism: Male are about 20% larger than the female. Males grow and shed a set of antlers each year.
BEHAVIOR	White-tail deer are generally considered solitary animals. They are the most nervous and shy of the deer family. The most common sounds heard are whistles or snorts of disturbed White-tails. They are extremely agile and are great runners (up to 30 MPH), swimmers and jumpers. White-tails generally live in a range of only about one square mile, although linear ranges can be much longer. Buck deer do not associate with the females except during the breeding season (the rut), when they actively seek out does for breeding. White-tails communicate with vocalizations and scents. They have an unusual social grouping.
RANGE	Scientists have identified 30 subspecies of whitetails in Central and North America. Whitetails occur from southern Canada south through the lower 48 States and Mexico to Panama.
PREDATORS	The main predator of adult deer is man. Many are taken as game during hunting season, while thousands more are killed by motor vehicles each year. Sometimes roving wild dog packs (even domesticated dogs in packs) will kill deer. More natural predators are the coyote, bobcat and cougar.
HABITAT	White-tailed deer can adapt and survive in a wide variety of terrestrial habitats from the big woods of the northeast to the swamps of Florida. Most woodland deer prefer a habitat of mixed woods, open areas and dense brush thickets to provide food and help conceal them from predators.
DIET	The White-tails are herbivores. Some foods white-tails may like to eat includes young leaves and stems, grass, berries, bark and nuts. In agriculture areas, they will eat crops such as corn and alfalfa.

Interesting Facts

Antlers

Members of the deer family grow antlers on their heads each year. Antlers are made of bone, are branched, and are shed after the breeding season. In most species, only males bear antlers. A buck's first set of antlers begins to grow when it's about 10-12 months old. Typical antlers are symmetrical on both sides and curve upward and outward to point forward, and consist of two main beams with individual tines growing upward from them. The bucks use their antlers for sparring with other bucks when competing for mates. After the breeding season (December to February), the bucks drop their antlers and then new antlers grow-in each spring (March or April). Growing antlers are covered by a skin called "velvet." This velvet is covered with soft hairs and contains blood vessels which supply nutriments to the growing antlers. By August or early September antler growth ceases and the velvet is shed or rubbed off by the buck as he rubs saplings. Polished antlers are carried throughout most of the breeding season. Male bucks may live in groups consisting of three or four individuals, except in mating season, when they are solitary.

2006	2007

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CLICK ON PICTURES FOR ENLARGED IMAGE

White-tailed Buck (Odocoileus virginianus)

Webb Township Herkimer County, New York	Groton Township Tompkins County, New York


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Varick Township Seneca County, New York


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Mendon Township Ontario County, New York	Scipio Township Cayuga County, New York


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