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The White-Tailed Deer, (Odocoileus virginianus), is the species most widely known throughout the United States, partly by reason of the fact that it was the first species with which the early settlers of America became acquainted, partly because of its wide distribution, and also its persistence in holding its own. In various localities this animal is known under various names, such as “White-Tailed Deer,” “Flag-Tailed Deer,” and “Fan-Tailed Deer.” Although not at all in need of it, quite recently it has received still another name—American Deer. The small deer of Florida, and also of New Mexico and the Southwest, have been described as separate forms; and if size is to be accepted as a factor in the differentiation of species, the diminutive proportions of the proposed southern species are quite sufficient to establish their separate identity.
The White-Tailed deer of Virginia and the northern United States is a fine animal—large, strong-limbed, heavily-antlered, and hardy. Between it and the deer of Florida the difference is as great as that between a setter dog and a mastiff. Thanks to the fact that this species is a born skulker and lives only in thick brush and timber, it still holds its own throughout the forest regions of the South generally, Pennsylvania, the Adirondacks, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, and Colorado. In the West it is often found inhabiting brushy ravines and river bottoms.
This species breeds readily in confinement, and when protected in any large tract of brush or timber, increases rapidly. During the months of September, October, and November, the bucks are dangerous and untrustworthy. The peculiar formation of the antlers—three strong, spear-like points thrust straight upward from the beam—makes them dangerous weapons; and when an ill-tempered buck lowers his chin and drives straight forward with eight sharp spears of solid bone, and nearly three hundred pounds of weight to back them, he may well be considered a dangerous animal. He is to be feared less than the elk only because he is smaller.
The Woodland Caribou, (Rangifer caribou).—The first hoofed animal to arrive at the Zoological Park was a young female of this species, which was procured in Champlain County, Canada, and forwarded to the Society by one of our members, Mr. George S. Huntington. These animals, when present in the Park, will be kept in a small enclosure, because a large range containing an abundance of green grass is fatal to them.