White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus (Greek: odous, tooth and koilus, hollow. Latin: of Virginia)
white-tailed deer
Range: Mostly east of the Continental Divide in the United States, north into southern Canada, and most of Mexico except Baja California.
Habitat: Brushy and wooded country.
Description: A deer with a large, white tail, held aloft and wagged from side to side as it runs away through the underbrush. In the Southwest, two geographic variants occur, the subspecies virginianus and the subspecies couesi; the latter known locally as Sonora fantail, and seen in the United States only in a limited range along the border. Odocoileus virginianus of the Southwest is a large deer. It usually weighs between 150 and 250 pounds, and sometimes up to 300. The average adult animal will measure around 6 feet in total length. Tail about 10 inches. Color is reddish in summer, changing to gray with the winter coat. Belly, insides of legs, and undersurface of tail are white. Ears are small. Antlers have upright tines from a single beam.
As the specific name indicates, this is the same deer that is found in the Eastern States. It is also known as the plains whitetail, because it was once common along brushy draws and river bottoms throughout the prairie regions. Preeminently an eastern animal, it occurs most abundantly in the Eastern States, dwindling in numbers westward to the Continental Divide. A few scattered groups are found in the Pacific Northwest, and the subspecies couesi extends westward along the Mexican border to the Colorado River.
The white-tailed deer may be distinguished from mule deer by any of three characteristics, all readily apparent in the field. These are: shape and construction of antlers, size and color of tail, and method of running. Antlers consist of two main beams which, after rising from the head, curve forward almost at right angles with a line drawn from forehead to nose. The tines rise from these main beams. In the mule deer the beams rise at a higher angle from the head and fork rather than remain single. The white-tailed tail is long and bushy, fully haired all around and pure white beneath. In flight it is erected and “wigwagged” from side to side. This, together with the white insides of the hams, presents a great show of white hair as the animal retreats. The mule deer has a thin, sparsely-haired tail that is bare underneath and does not wave from side to side in running. The “whitetail” runs at a brisk gallop with belly close to the ground; the mule deer bounds away with a series of ballet-like leaps.
This is the deer that contributed so much to the pioneers in their westward trek from the Atlantic States. It was important not only for its flesh but for its hide, which after tanning became the buckskin moccasins, breeches, and coats commonly worn by outdoorsmen in early days. Its distribution is now spotty compared with the former range, although there are today probably more white-tailed deer in the United States than in colonial times. This is mainly because in the thickly settled Eastern States predators have been reduced to a minimum and hunting seasons carefully regulated. It is too early yet to know if predator elimination will result in an inferior strain of deer, but the relative overpopulation in many localities has been indicated by lack of browse, disease, and excessive winter kill. The latter especially has been a problem in some of the Northern States. “Whitetails” are gregarious creatures, banding together in considerable numbers at times, especially during winter. A band of them in deep snow will stay together and their hooves will soon tramp down the snow over a small area. As succeeding snows fall, the drifts become deeper around the “deer yards” and eventually the occupants become as imprisoned by this white barrier as though they were fenced. If the number of animals in the yard is too great, available browse soon disappears and many will starve to death before warm weather returns. Over most of the mountainous area occupied by white-tailed deer in the Southwest snow is no problem. The herds merely move down to lower country when the snow gets too deep. This seasonal movement is so pronounced that this deer is classed as a migratory animal in some localities.