The white-tailed deer is a medium-sized ungulate with reddish-brown fur in summer and grayer in winter, having a prominent tail with white underside, used as an alarm signal in flight. Males carry annual branched antlers with 6-7 points, which they shed after rutting and regenerate for the next season.
Habits
A social and crepuscular species, it lives in small herds, especially during winter, grazing on herbaceous plants and leaves, and signals alarm by suddenly raising its tail to warn conspecifics.
Reproduction
Females reach sexual maturity at 6-8 months; gestation period lasts around 200 days, and typically 1-3 fawns are born at once, with a maximum of two generations per year under favorable conditions.
Distribution
Naturally found from southern Canada to northern Brazil and Peru, occupying various habitats from temperate forests and plains to swamps and semi-desert regions; the species has also been introduced to parts of Europe and Oceania, quickly adapting to new environments.
