Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
White-tailed Deer
| White-tailed Deer | ||||||||||||||
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| Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, 1780 |
The White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia Deer, is a medium sized deer found throughout the 48 contiguous states of the United States, southern Canada and as far south as Panama. It can adapt to a variety of habitats from desert-like climates in Arizona and New Mexico to the mountains of West Virginia.
The deer can be recognized by its characteristic white tail, which it raises as a signal of alarm and is typically seen in its escape. The male (also known as a buck) usually weighs from 130 to (in rare cases) 350 pounds (60 to 160 kg), depending on the gene pools and feed in a certain area. The female (doe) usually weighs between 90 and 130 pounds (50 to 60 kg), but they will frequently weigh in excess of 130 lb (60 kg). The deer's coat is a reddish - brown in the spring and summer, and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall. The bucks shed their antlers around February, and begin growing them back in the early spring. In northern regions, the mating season (also known as the rut) is short, about two weeks long, while the breeding season in Mexico is nearly all year long. The mating season is dependent on the moon and sun.
Some recent estimates put the deer population in the United States at around 30 million. In 1930, the population numbered only about 300,000, but through successful conservation programs and seasonal hunting, the deer population is once again healthy and soaring, to the point at which the animal is considered a nuisance in some areas.
The White-tailed Deer is the state animal of Arkansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, as well as the provincial animal of Saskatchewan.
The White-tailed Deer was implanted in Finland during the 1950s. This project was very successful, and the deer have recently begun spreading through northern Scandinavia.
White deer: http://www.senecawhitedeer.org/deer/deer.htm
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