White-tailed deer

Odocoileus virginianus · A medium-sized deer found from southern Canada through Central America and into South America.

Also called Whitetail, Virginia deer, White-tail deer.

White-tailed deer
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
White-tailed deer
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
White-tailed deer
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderArtiodactyla
FamilyCervidae
GenusOdocoileus
SpeciesOdocoileus virginianus

Where it lives

From southern Canada through the US and Mexico to Bolivia and Peru.

Fun facts

  • When alarmed, it raises its tail to flash the bright white underside as a warning signal.
  • Fawns are born with white spots on a reddish-brown coat that help hide them, and they lose the spots as they grow.
  • Its native range stretches from Canada all the way south to Peru and Bolivia.
  • Outside the Americas, it has been introduced to New Zealand and to countries such as Finland and the Czech Republic.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).