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White-tailed Deer

Mammals

The white-tailed deer is a medium-sized deer species native to the Americas, ranging from southern Canada through the United States and Central America into parts of South America, named for the bright white underside of its tail, which it raises like a flag when alarmed and fleeing. Males grow antlers each year, shedding and regrowing them annually, and the species is highly adaptable, thriving in forests, farmland, wetlands and suburban areas alike. White-tailed deer are primarily browsers, feeding on leaves, twigs, fruit and agricultural crops, and their populations have rebounded dramatically across much of North America over the past century following conservation programs and the decline of natural predators, making the species classified as being of least concern and, in many areas, a subject of population management rather than conservation concern.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Herbivore 2
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 3
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status.
Scientific Name
Odocoileus virginianus 1
Conservation Status
Least Concern 1
Population Estimate
30,000,000 1
2005 estimate for the United States only, per the article's Human interactions section; no global total is given by the source.
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
The white-tailed deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail. 1
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 4
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 5
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Artiodactyla, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life

In Biome

Grassland, Biomes
Source White-tailed Deer (Wikipedia)

In Ecosystem

Llanos, Ecosystems
Source White-tailed Deer (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Belize

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Bolivia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Brazil

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Canada

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Colombia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Costa Rica

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Croatia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Cuba

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Czechia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Ecuador

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

El Salvador

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Finland

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Germany

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Guatemala

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Guyana

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Honduras

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Jamaica

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Mexico

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Nicaragua

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Norway

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Panama

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Russia

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Saint Kitts and Nevis

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Serbia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

South America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Suriname

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Sweden

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United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Venezuela

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. White-tailed Deer (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Opening paragraph, binomial
    Odocoileus virginianus
  • Infobox: status
    LC
  • Human interactions section, 2005 US estimate sentence
    In 2005, estimates put the deer population in the United States at around 30 million.
  • Description section, tail sentence
    The white-tailed deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail.
  • Hunting
    White-tailed deer have long been hunted as game, for pure sport and for their commodities, and is probably the most hunted native big game species in the Americas.
  • In Biome: Grassland, Wikipedia intro: "adaptable, the various subspecies of white-tailed deer inhabit many different ecosystems, from arid grasslands to the Amazon and Orinoco basins; from the Llanos..."
  • In Ecosystem: Llanos, Wikipedia intro: "inhabit many different ecosystems, from arid grasslands to the Amazon and Orinoco basins; from the Llanos to the high-elevation terrain of the Andes."
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: White-tailed Deer
WikipediaIntroduction
Quote, Introduction
It is the most widely distributed mainland ungulate herbivore in the Americas; coupled with its natural predator, the mountain lion (Puma concolor), it is one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammal species in the Americas and the world.
View the Source
3. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
4. NatureServe Explorer: Odocoileus virginianus
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source
5. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Odocoileus virginianus (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITES
Quote, Conservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
View the Source
Wikidata: White-tailed Deer
Wikidata Q215887, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: ArtiodactylaView the Source
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