Fun Facts:
Deer have good eyesight and hearing but mostly depend on smell to recognize danger.
Male deer shed their antlers between January and March and grow them out in the Spring.
Young males usually leave their mothers after about a year, but young females stay for about 2 years!
White-tailed Deer can run up to 30 miles per hour!
They are really good swimmers.
Fawns may be left alone, laying flat in vegetation for up to 4 hours while the female forages. The fawn will hold their feces and urine the entire time, and when the mother returns, she will eat whatever the fawn voids to keep predators from getting any sign of the fawn.
Male deer shed their antlers between January and March and grow them out in the Spring.
Young males usually leave their mothers after about a year, but young females stay for about 2 years!
White-tailed Deer can run up to 30 miles per hour!
They are really good swimmers.
Fawns may be left alone, laying flat in vegetation for up to 4 hours while the female forages. The fawn will hold their feces and urine the entire time, and when the mother returns, she will eat whatever the fawn voids to keep predators from getting any sign of the fawn.
Benefits:
They are considered a keystone species.
In the correct numbers, meaning they are at an ecological balance, they actually increase biodiversity and encourage new plant growth!
They also eat brush which opens the forest floor to absorb more sunlight, allowing smaller plants to grow.
White-tailed deer have been found to have a positive impact on snakes, salamanders and other populations because of grazing which opens up some areas of habitat.
In the correct numbers, meaning they are at an ecological balance, they actually increase biodiversity and encourage new plant growth!
They also eat brush which opens the forest floor to absorb more sunlight, allowing smaller plants to grow.
White-tailed deer have been found to have a positive impact on snakes, salamanders and other populations because of grazing which opens up some areas of habitat.
Challenges:
They can be destructive to crops, gardens and young trees. If their numbers get too high in a population, they can overgraze forest vegetation.
White-tailed Deer can also cause car accidents, especially in areas with high populations.
They can be hosts for ticks that may carry Lyme disease.
White-tailed Deer can also cause car accidents, especially in areas with high populations.
They can be hosts for ticks that may carry Lyme disease.
Tips for living alongside them:
Fawns will often be left by their mothers for several hours. Just leave them be! Contact a local rehab if a fawn is left for more than a day without a visit from mom.
Population control through immunocontraception programs can help.
Repellents that give off a sulphurous odor (like rotten eggs) is most effective because deer associate it with rotten meat or a predator.
Scare devices such as motion-activated sprinklers, mild electric shocks on fencing, or those that emit deer distress calls can keep them out of gardens.
Protect young, newly-planted trees with sleeves around the trunks until they are 4-5 feet tall.
Population control through immunocontraception programs can help.
Repellents that give off a sulphurous odor (like rotten eggs) is most effective because deer associate it with rotten meat or a predator.
Scare devices such as motion-activated sprinklers, mild electric shocks on fencing, or those that emit deer distress calls can keep them out of gardens.
Protect young, newly-planted trees with sleeves around the trunks until they are 4-5 feet tall.
range and habitat
They range throughout Southern Canada, throughout almost all of the United States, and into Central America to Bolivia.
sources
Ohio State University. (2008, October 28). Snakes, Salamanders And Other Creatures Thrive In Areas With Higher Deer Populations. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 23, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081020120129.htm
van der Does, R. (2018). What Purpose Does the Deer Have in the Ecosystem? Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/purpose-deer-ecosystem-8659608.html
van der Does, R. (2018). What Purpose Does the Deer Have in the Ecosystem? Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/purpose-deer-ecosystem-8659608.html
