white-tailed deer facts

Interesting Facts About White-tailed Deer

For those that work close-hand to better manage deer and deer habitat, we are always learning how we can improve the conditions of both. To better understand how we can enhance available deer habitat, deer nutrition, and the health of a deer herd, any information we can gather about deer help the cause. Here are some additonal facts you may not know:

1. White-tailed deer establish a home-range territory and will not leave it! It has been documented that deer will starve rather than leave their territory. Moral of the story — maintain adequate nutrition!

2. Wild white-tailed have been known to live at least to 11-years in the wild, but I suspect a very small percentage live even longer. Now those are mature deer!

3. With optimal habitat conditions, deer populations can double in size annually! Without regulated hunting and proper harvest management, deer will destroy wildlife habitat and suffer tremendous population die-offs.

4. If you took 2 white-tailed deer in the absence of predators, in just 7-years those two animals alone can produce a herd of up to 35 animals! I wish my savings increased at that rate.

5. In areas of overpopulation, deer cause an over-browsing affect we call a “browse line.” You do not want a browse line on your ranch! After a browse line is created, it takes years under a low deer density for browse plants to re-establish and recover.

White-tailed Deer Facts 2

White-tailed deer are one of the most widely studied wildlife species in the US. As a result, there are more known facts about whitetail than any other species, game or non-game. For example, researchers have already identified at least 25+ subspecies of white-tailed deer spanning from coast to coast! Although most are very similar, each is somewhat different in terms of physical characteristics and in behavior.

Below are 5 facts about the amazing white-tailed deer:

1. Well-nourished white-tailed bucks begin growing new antlers each April. The timing regarding new antler growth can vary with an individual buck’s body condition, but is influenced by environmental conditions. Antlers can grow more than 1/2″ per day.

2. When temperatures drop to single digits (farenheit), whitetail deer are often more nocturnal and also tend to move during the mid-day hours.

3. The large ears of white-tailed deer can rotate 180 degrees and pick up high-frequency sounds very well.

4. The entire molting process for whitetails is slow and gradual, usually taking several months to complete. From early spring to late summer, a deer’s coat transforms from a dense grey pelage (fur) to a thin but deeply-colored auburn.

5. However, when hunting in early fall, hunters will notice that the deer’s coat has changed from reddish to grey. This fall color change occurs much more rapidly, often within only one to two weeks!

Want more information? Check out these addtional white-tailed deer facts.

White-tailed Deer Facts

Deer hunters spend a lot of time and resources scouting and hunting white-tailed deer, but if you’re like a lot of folks in the woods, there is a lot you may not know about your quarry. As such, everyone once in a while I’m going help hunters get a better handle on deer and their habits by publishing some simple deer facts. Here’s the first installment:

White-tailed Deer Facts:

-White-tailed bucks most often bed by laying on their right side and facing downwind, which allows them to use their eyes, ears, and excellent sense of smell to detect danger approaching from any direction.

-Research studies have shown that whitetail deer can smell human scent on underbrush for days after we leave the woods! Wary, mature bucks react very negatively when they run across human scent, often becoming leery of the area for weeks afterwards.

-A whitetail’s hair color appears almost bluish-grey in winter. New hair that grows during autumn provides whitetails with added insulation against cold, winter temperatures. The tips on these new hairs are dark, giving the winter hide its richer hue.

-When running from danger, a deer takes very long strides with its tracks sometimes spaced as much as 25-feet apart! That’s what I call getting away!