Minnesota Seasons - whitetail deer


Conservation Status	IUCN Red List	LC - Least Concern

	NatureServe	N5 - Secure SNR - Unranked

	Minnesota	not listed

Occurrence	Common and widespread
Habitat	Prairies, forests, swamps, wood lots, agricultural fields.
Lifespan	2 to 10 years
Size	Total length: 71″ to 84¾″ Tail: 11″ to 14″			Photo by Christa Rittberg

Identification	The tail is wide and ends in a black tip. There is no rump patch around the tail. When the animal runs the tail stands erect. On males the antlers develop on a main beam that grows forward. Branches on the antlers are either unbranched prongs, or prongs with minor branches. They do not split equally. The males are about 20% larger than the females.

Sign	In the winter scat is a pile of pelets. In the summer, when there is more moisture in the diet, the pellets bunch up into larger masses. Fresh scat is dark and shiny. After a few days it loses the sheen. It lightens in color as it ages.

Similar Species	Isolated occurances of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Minnesota have been reported. The mule deer has much larger ears. There is a white rump patch around the tail. The tail is thinner than the tail of the whitetailed deer, and ends in a black tip. When the animal runs the tail hangs down. On males the antlers develop on a main beam that grows upward, rather than forward. Each branch of the antlers are split into a forked pair.

Food	Leaves, twigs, shoots, acorns, berries, and seeds, grasses, and herbs.

Life Cycle

Behavior

Distribution			Sources: 7, 13, 15, 24, 29. The range of Dakota whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus dacotensis) extends into western and northwestern Minnesota. The range of Kansas whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus) extends into southern Minnesota to about the Minnesota River Valley. Northern whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus borealis) are found in the northeast, north-central, central, metro, and southeast regions of the state.

Comments

Taxonomy	Order:	Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)
	Suborder:	Cetruminantia (ruminants, whales, and hippos)
	No Rank:	Ruminantiamorpha
	Infraorder:	Pecora
	Family:	Cervidae (deer)
	Subfamily:	Capreolinae (new world deer)
	Tribe:	Rangiferini (reindeer and new world deer)

Subordinate Taxa	northern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus borealis) Carmen Mountains white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus carminis) Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) Coues white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) Dakota white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus dacotensis) Hilton Head Island white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus hiltonensis) Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) Kansas white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus) Avery Island white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus mcilhennyi) Blackbeard Island white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus nigribarbis) northwestern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus ochrourus) Florida coastal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus osceola) Florida white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus seminolus) Bull Island white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus taurinsulae) Texas white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus texanus) Hunting Island white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus venatorius) Virginia white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus virginianus)

Synonyms

Common Names	deer Virginia deer whitetail white-tailed deer whitetail deer


Visitor Photos

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Margot Avey



Lynn Rubey

A White Tail Deer at sunset in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.


Dan W. Andree

FAWN PORTRAIT... It had a few green plant seeds stuck on it. One on the forehead and a couple on the body front area. Since they are a little bigger they seem to get around more and one needs to watch in out of the way areas or backroads one never knows when one could spook and dart out in front of a vehicle. They are cute that is for sure.


Whitetail deer fawns... They were very cute!


Kirk Nelson

Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary


Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Long Meadow Lake Unit Doe and fawn, just off the Bluff Trail


Crosby Farm Regional Park Whitetail deer can be seen throughout the park. I saw this buck near the parking area at Shepard Road and Elway.


Fort Snelling State Park Resting deer seemed unconcerned that I was only 10-12 yards away


Christa Rittberg





Wayne Rasmussen



Bill Reynolds

Caught this deer working along a backyard in the city of Duluth.





MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Fawns




Sign



	This blue urine spot is a sign of deer browsing on common buckthorn.

Camera


Slideshows

	White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Bill Keim


	Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) Allen Chartier


	Deer Craig A. Mullenbach

slideshow


Visitor Videos

Share your video of this mammal.

	Whitetail doe Dan W. Andree

	About Published on Jan 16, 2015 A curious doe in early spring. It looks like she is not that far away from giving birth to fawns.

	Fawn Dan W. Andree

	About Published on Feb 18, 2015 While filming out in the woods I came across a fawn that first ran off then came back. I stood quietly with my camcorder ready as it approached so close I had to stop filming it and just enjoy it's closeness.


Other Videos

	White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Andrew Baita

	About Uploaded on Aug 23, 2010 some deer Odocoileus virginianus shot with a canon t1i in 720p

	Whitetail Deer (Cervidae: Odocoileus virginianus) Antlered Males Carl Barrentine

	About Uploaded on Aug 2, 2010 Photographed west of the Agassiz NWR, Minnesota (02 August 2010). This one's for you, Floydstinkyboy. ;-)

	White-tailed deer - Odocoileus virginianus - YouTube JCVdude

	About Published on Aug 20, 2012 The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States (all but five of the states), Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru. It has also been introduced to New Zealand and some countries in Europe, such as Finland, Czech Republic, and Serbia. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. In North America, the species is most common east of the Rocky Mountains, and is absent from much of the western United States, including Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii, and Alaska. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer

	Whitetail deer rut behavior EEItony

	About Uploaded on Nov 13, 2010 A white-tailed deer buck (Odocoileus virginianus) demonstrating typical rutting behavior by rubbing on tree branches and creating a scrape with its front hooves. Visit www.eagleeyeimaging.net to view images of white-tailed deer and other wildlife.

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this mammal.

Margot Avey 4/19/2019	Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center

Lynn Rubey 1/1/2019	Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge A White Tail Deer at sunset in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.

Kirk Nelson 8/11/2018	Location: Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary

Dan W. Andree 8/5/2018	Location: rural Norman Co. MN They were very cute!

Kirk Nelson 8/20/2017	Location: Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Long Meadow Lake Unit Doe and fawn, just off the Bluff Trail

Kirk Nelson 6/30/2017	Location: Crosby Farm Regional Park Whitetail deer can be seen throughout the park. I saw this buck near the parking area at Shepard Road and Elway.

Wayne Rasmussen 5/31/2016	Location: Gull Lake, MN

Kirk Nelson 5/8/2014	Location: Fort Snelling State Park Resting deer seemed unconcerned that I was only 10-12 yards away

Margot Avey 3/27/2011	Location: Westwood Hills Nature Center

Bill Reynolds 7/4/2005	Location: St. Louis Co. Caught this deer working along a backyard in the city of Duluth.




MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings


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