Deer | Nature Adventure

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Biology

There are many deer species in the world, and a number of cousin-species like elk (wapiti), caribou, and moose! But in North America, you're most likely to see one of two species of deer - the mule deer, and the white-tailed deer.

White-tailed deer are most commonly found east and south of the Rocky Mountains, and in its valleys. They can also be found all throughout Mexico, and as far south as Peru! They're usually smaller than mule deer, slender, and tan in color. Their antlers, which the males lose and grow back every year, are not quite as large and branching as those of the mule deer.

Mule deer are often larger when compared to white-tailed deer. They have grayish coats that get darker in winter, with bigger ears and more wide-set antlers with forking branches. They occupy areas with higher elevation, being found from the Rocky Mountains to the west coast and into Canada. They may share their territory in some areas with the white-tail deer, wapiti, and even moose!

Like their cousins the caribou, these deer make long migrations every year. They travel from low elevation in the winter to high elevation in the summer. This helps them avoid intense weather and food shortages! Deer will use the same path every time, almost like they're following a highway road. This can be a problem if environmental changes happen around their migratory path, meaning they cannot get sufficient food or water along the way. Human intervention, like building fences, roads, and even whole houses in the middle of these migratory paths also causes a lot of problems for the deer.

These migration patterns are hard to change, as they are an instinctual drive! It takes many generations for deer to shift their path around these obstacles, if they can at all.

Ecological Importance

Deer are considered "generalist" animals. This means that they can adapt to many different habitats! This is great for the deer and other predatory species, as they can live comfortably in just about any environment, and predators have a reliable source of food in their diets. Humans, too, often hunt deer for their meat.

Unfortunately, because deer as so adaptable, they tend to take over an ecosystem if not kept in check. Deer can wildly overpopulate, destroying forests as they "over-browse" the vegetation, eating all the young trees and grasses but leaving inedible weeds. This isn't good for the deer or the environment, as their food sources will eventually run out, and the weeds left behind can block waterways and prevent more useful plants from growing!

We need predators in our environments to help keep the number of deer in check. We humans can't do it all alone! Though hunting is allowed seasonally in North America, deer populations are reaching critical levels in most states, leading to disease, starvation, and traffic accidents. Natural predators, like wolves and cougars, help to pick out these sickly and weak deer before they can pass on those problems to the new generation.

Did you know?

It's usually only the male deer who can grow antlers... But not always!

Antlers grow every year in the spring through fall, when males (called bucks) use them to compete for breeding rights with females (called does). But around 1 in every 10,000 females has the change to grow antlers, too! And in caribou, which you might know better as reindeer, both males and females grow antlers. In fact, the female caribou keep their antlers all throughout winter! Males will lose theirs shortly after the mating season.

This means that all of Santa's reindeer would have to be females, if they still have their antlers in time for Christmas!

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