White Tail Deer Research Paper

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Pages: 5

General Background Odocoileus virginianus, or better known by its common name, the white-tail deer. In terms of taxonomy, the white-tail deer is in the Animalia kingdom, the Cervidae Goldfuss family, Odocoileus Rafinesque genus, and the Odocoileus virginianus species (Catalogue of Life). The white-tail deer is an organism that is native to Maine. The geographical range of this deer is high, as the white-tail deer lives in most parts of southern Canada, and with the exception of just a couple states, inhabits all of the United States (Animal Diversity Web 2020). Since white-tail deer are such a common species across the country, they have no special status and no concerns when it comes to conservation status. The only threats that are really posed to the white-tail deer population are being attacked and eaten by predators or killed by hunters. …show more content…
The white-tail deer has a bilaterally symmetric body shape (Encyclopedia of Life). The body coloration of a white-tail deer can differ in shades of brown, which is redder in the summer and greyer in the winter. The white-tail deer also has white fur behind its nose, in a circle around the eyes, inside the ears, down the chin and throat, on the upper inside of the legs, and beneath the tail (Animal Diversity Web 2020). Male white-tail deer have antlers that are shed from January to March, grow out again in April or May, and then lose their velvet around August to September. White-tail deer at birth, or fawns, have white spots that go away by their first winter. The average white-tail deer live to be about 2 to 3 years old (Animal Diversity