The Whitetail Deer

HABITS AND HABITATS

Whitetail deer are extremely cautious and wary animals with highly developed senses of sight, smell, and hearing. When threatened with danger, they will often attempt to quietly sneak away. If seriously frightened however, a whitetail deer will often utter a loud, snorting or blowing sound, and then quickly run away while raising the tail upwards like a flag, exposing the white underneath as a visual alarm to other deer nearby. Bucks are primarily solitary animals except during the breeding season, also called the rut, when they actively seek out does for breeding. The breeding season usually takes place in November but in some areas can extent into early December. Bucks rub their antlers against small saplings to mark their territory and also use them to fight with other bucks during the rut. After the breeding season, the antlers are shed and a new set begins to grow later in the spring. Does often travel together, especially during the winter months, or a doe will often be accompanied by her young from the previous season. By late spring, the young deer begin to drift away from their mothers. Does give birth to their young in early summer. The young deer, known as fawns, are almost scentless for the first few days of their life. White spots on a reddish brown coat help to camouflage the fawn on the sun dappled forest floor where it spends much of it's time hiding from predators. The mother returns periodically to nurse the fawn until it is large enough to follow her about. Whitetail deer occupy a variety of habitats from forests to fields and swamps. They are most common where a variety of habitats are found, providing them with all their seasonal needs. Whitetails are herbivores, feeding on a large variety of plant materials such as tender young leaves, stems, shoots and in some areas acorns. Deer also seek out mushrooms and wild fruits and will feed on man's agricultural crops, such as corn and soybeans, often causing considerable damage.

Deer Antlers

Usually only male deer (bucks) have antlers. Once in a great while female deer (doe) will also have antlers. Contrary to popular belief, antlers are live tissue, composed of bone. Antlers are the fastest growing tissue in the animal kingdom. They grow at an average of 1 to 2 inches per week during development. Antlers have a constant blood and nerve supply, which is inside the velvet antler covering, while growing. The antlers are covered in velvet from the time that the antlers start growing in the spring, until the antlers stop growing in the late summer to early fall. When the antlers stop growing, they start to shed this velvet covering. Bucks use trees and shrubs to rub their antlers on, to help rub off this velvet. This is where the term "buck rubs", comes from. Researchers agree that antlers have evolved as a weapon to gain dominance over other bucks during breeding season. After the breeding season, bucks will shed their antlers. Antlers are usually shed in January or February. Antler shedding usually occurs earlier in northern states than southern states. A new pair of antlers will start growing in the spring.

Another popular belief is that you can tell a deer's age by the number of points on each antler, this is not a good way to age a deer. The only true way to tell a deer's age is by its teeth.

Deer Sight

A deer's eyes are located on the side of their head, which has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is, deer are able to view 310 degrees around itself. This wide view allows the deer to be totally aware of the surroundings, even when it is staring straight ahead.
The disadvantage is, deer cannot focus on one location with both eyes. This causes the deer to have very poor depth perception. Deer also see at a lower resolution than humans, and are believed to be color blind.

Deer are nocturnal animals. Nocturnal means that deer can see at night, which is one of the reasons they are more active at night. Deer have more light-detecting cells in their eyes than humans, which aids their nocturnal vision. Like other nocturnal animals, their eyes shine when exposed to light at night. This is due to a reflection off a special membrane in their eye.
It is believed that deer can also see in the ultraviolet light range, which is abundant during the earlier morning and late afternoon. This ability to see better, in early morning and late afternoon, helps to explain why deer are more active during these time periods.

Deer Hearing

A deer's hearing, being far superior to that of a human, can easily detect a faint sound. It is believed that a deer's hearing is so sensitive that it can determine how far away a sound was made. A deer's hearing is one of the reasons that it is so difficult to sneak up on it without being detected. The ears of a deer are vital in helping it avoid danger. When a deer hears a sound it will instantly turn its head and point its ears in the direction of the sound. The deer will focus all of its attention on smelling, looking and listening for any more signs of danger. If the deer doesn't smell, see or hear any danger, after checking the area several times, it will usually go back to its normal routine.

Deer Smell

Deer have a highly developed sense of smell, it is one of their best weapons for detecting approaching danger. The moist nose of a deer, similar to that of a dog, allows the deer to pick up the faintest of odors. The odor particles, drifting by on the breeze, stick to the moisture on the deer's nose and are then drawn into the olfactory organs. A deer can detect the odor of approaching danger several hundred yards away. This is why you should always try to hunt with the breeze in your face.