My friends are having a fun little series of polls, pitting different animals against one another, and my suggestion (the whitetail deer) is coming up soon. Do you have any fun whitetail deer facts that may sway the voters?
Whitetails are the oldest modern deer species, first appearing in the fossil record 2-5 million years ago
They have a stronger sense of smell than most dogs, with over 290 million scent receptors vs. ~220 million
They're arguably the most adaptable deer in the Americas, ranging all the way from northern Yukon, Canada to northern Bolivia
The largest subspecies, the Northern whitetail (O. v. borealis) can reach up to 310 lbs (140 kg), while the smallest subspecies, the Key deer (O. v. clavium) reaches a max of about 75 lbs (34 kg). (Key deer are also the smallest North American deer. This earned them the nickname toy deer!)
They come in a wide variety of color morphs, including leucistic, piebald, albino, and melanistic. I've personally even seen a buck that looked "blond" or "buckskin" -- likely a form of leucism
They're the only deer caught on camera eating human bones (might wanna leave this one out though)
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Happy Halloween! This year, let me tell you about the Not Deer -- and why it is, in fact, just a deer
You've probably seen it if you've been on the internet at all these past couple years. "Something" pretending to be a white-tailed deer, allegedly haunting the Appalachian Mountains. You can always tell, because there's something just a little -- or very -- off about it. Usually seen on grainy, nighttime trail camera images.
But the reality is, these behaviors, looks, and quirks all have an explanation. I'd like to demystify deer for both sides here -- they're far more complex than many people give them credit for, and far weirder, naturally, than anyone wants to admit.
So, here's some normal deer behaviors/appearances that have become "not deer" tropes:
Standing/walking on hind legs
You've probably seen this one. Whitetails do this all the time, mostly when they're duking it out with their front hooves or reaching for leaves/apples/acorns/etc. This is also a common rutting (breeding) behavior for bucks like this, which will rub their antlers and faces on branches to mark them.
Pale eyes
(source)
Yes, whitetails can have naturally pale or blue eyes, especially if they have leucism (a lack of melanin). It's a rare, but normal gene, which can be more pronounced in inbred populations. (Alternatively, blindness or cataracts can cause the eyes to turn blue or milky.)
Long necks and legs
Deer have long necks, some longer than others, which they extend when they're watching something. Like people, there's variation in their proportions. This also goes for other "not deer" features, like eyes being "too far apart" or "too close together."
Age is also a factor. This one in particular is an older, "teenage" fawn, which is why its face is small and round while its neck is awkwardly long.
Prolonged eye contact, standing completely still
Yes, I've seen this called a "not deer" thing. What these guys are known for doing in the middle of the road.
This is a defense mechanism. The deer is watching you because you're a predator, and it's trying not to be seen.
Growling, hissing, screaming
I can understand this one a little better. Usually, a buck will grunt during the rut to tend to does and show off his prowess. There's various sounds he can make, including growling or clicking noises. However, rarely, any deer might growl in aggression or as a defense. This is scary, not because it's secretly a monster, but because it's about to beat you up with its antlers or sharp little hooves.
As for hissing, whitetails will blow air sharply through their noses when alarmed to alert nearby herd members of danger. This sound might also seem similar to a scream from far away. (Bucks will "snort wheeze" during rut, as well, but it's far softer.)
Eating bones, carrion, or live birds
Deer need calcium to produce antlers or milk, thus will chew on bones from various animals, including other deer and, in one study, humans (TW for human remains). They'll also occasionally feed on carcasses, eggs, and live birds/rodents if it's a lean winter (or just for extra protein). Many ungulates do this, including domestic cattle and horses!
Now, sometimes a deer doesn't act or look right, and it is a cause for concern because it's ill or injured. Here are some abnormal behaviors and appearances, and what might cause them (TW for sick, emaciated deer):
Swollen face or body
(source)
Swelling in the muzzle may be caused by bacterial infections or issues with the teeth. Other causes of swelling include abscesses, like the one on this doe's side, internal injuries, or trauma.
This deer in particular may also have chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is an always-fatal degenerative disease that attacks the deer's brain.
Lack of fear
This could either be due to habituation to humans or illness. Don't approach a "friendly" deer, and don't give it food, especially if it exhibits any of the following symptoms.
Excessive salivation, weakness, emaciation
(source)
These are signs of severe illness, like chronic wasting disease (CWD) as seen here, or rabies, which is transmissible to people and extremely dangerous. This is not a cryptid, this is an animal that needs help -- call wildlife services if you see one like it!
Listlessness, lack of balance, running in circles
Potentially due to a vehicle collision, but also symptoms of CWD and especially rabies. Either way, call wildlife services.
If you got this far, thank you for reading! If anyone wants to add a trope I missed, feel free. Hopefully it helps normalize some very cool, if not freaky, aspects of these animals.
and just some variations. Obviously not a comprehensive list, only a few examples of how it can present in deer across species. Some of these sources contain images of dead animals (labeled DA) or outdated language for intersex conditions (OL)! Please keep that in mind before clicking the links.
First up, antlered does:
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
So put incredibly simply, all cervids (except for water deer) are capable of antler growth, as the stem cells that generate them are present even in females. However, in those cervids (except reindeer/caribou), those cells only activate with heightened testosterone. Usually only males can produce enough, but rarely, so can a female. Their antlers tend to be spindly and narrow, if they grow larger than spikes, and remain covered in velvet year-round. They rarely, if ever drop them, unlike their male counterparts, which regrow their antlers annually.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
This is most commonly documented in members of the Odocoileus genus, such as these whitetails, and in the Capreolus genus, namely western roe deer. Like the doe above, these deer are typically capable of reproducing, and often behave like other females of their species, i.e. staying in female-only herds. Their heightened testosterone can be linked to hormonal imbalances, malformed or underdeveloped reproductive organs, or tumors/cysts on their ovaries. The latter occurs most often in older individuals, and has also been documented in elk, red deer, and moose (like this cow, which was spotted with a calf near Nome, Alaska).
Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas)
High testosterone has even been documented in the aforementioned water deer, causing does to grow elongated fangs (DA, OL). These does, like females of other species with permanent velvet antlers, were still capable of producing offspring. While they were expected to exceed the standard weight for does, they were actually smaller.
However, not all antlered does can reproduce, and not all have permanent velvet. In extremely rare cases, their antlers can harden and shed. This leads to the next set of conditions, which unfortunately I don't have pictures for: visibly intersex animals, externally, internally, or both.
A vast majority of visibly intersex deer are discovered via hunting; therefore, intersex whitetails and roe deer (DA) are (still) the best studied. These deer can have any combination of sex organs, such as an individual with a vulva, cervix, testes, and more (DA, OL). Their antlers can be velvet or hardened, though they're often malformed. They may exhibit behaviors of both sexes, including breeding behaviors; while I couldn't find much regarding their reproductive ability, most are likely infertile. There's still a lot to study regarding these guys, especially in poorly-researched species like muntjacs, brockets, and hog deer.
Finally, the most common form of intersex in deer: cryptorchidism. This is a condition where one or both testicles don't descend properly, or are otherwise malformed. It causes male deer to grow wonky antlers, referred to as "cactus antlers," "Devil's antlers," and, for moose, velericorn antlers (also used for antlered cow moose). They shed them at odd times, and, like for this individual, they might even crumble away rather than pop off cleanly.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (OL)
These deer may have little interest in mating, scraping, self-urinating or other breeding behaviors due to a lack of testosterone, or even prefer the company of females year-round. They may look more feminine, like this elk found in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which I believe to be a bull with cryptorchidism or another hormonal imbalance.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Like many animals, including humans, deer have so much variation in appearance, behavior, and yes, sexual characteristics. Even with strong dimorphism, biology is never binary.
Do you have any photos of melanistic whitetails? I’ve seen piebald and leucistic ones (wild! In real life! On my hikes!), but never a melanistic one.
That's because melanism (an excess production of melanin) is the rarest whitetail color morph! The highest concentration of these deer live in central Texas, USA. The reason isn't entirely clear, but some researchers suggest this may be because dark coats offer better camouflage in the region's heavily wooded river drainages.
Like leucism (lack of pigment), there are varying degrees of melanism. Some deer are jet black while others are rich brown, save for the undersides of their tails. Dark whitetails that keep their white markings, or just have dark heads compared to the rest of their bodies, are considered pseudomelanistic.
Honestly deer hybridization is fascinating. Whitetails and mule deer are incredibly genetically close, have overlapping rutting seasons, and aren't too dissimilar in behavior (besides running vs. stotting); but hybrids are so awkward in movement they struggle to escape predation, with all male hybrids being sterile.
Source (TW: dead animals)
However, Père David's deer and red deer aren't even in the same genus, have separate rutting seasons (so wouldn't naturally breed), and one practically lives in the water, but with artificial insemination can produce relatively healthy and reproductively viable offspring.
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Do you have any thermal images of deer? I think they’re really funny but its hard to find good ones. Plus most of them are from deer hunters and stuff so yk :(
Thermals are interesting because they show which parts an animal is prioritizing -- like in these photos, you can see that mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) have the most heat (i.e. blood vessels) in their noses (and growing antlers). This is an important adaptation when you use your face to plow through snow for half the year or more.
Meanwhile, this muntjac (genus Muntiacus, possibly Fea's muntjac) is chewing its cud and digesting, causing its face and stomach to be the warmest.
And in these spooked mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), their ears and chests emanate the most heat, which means that their hearts/lungs are taking up a lot of blood in preparation to flee -- plus they're listening for danger.
What's the difference between horns and antlers and wtf do pronghorn deer have
Horns grow over a bony core and are made up of keratin, the same stuff hair and fingernails are made of, and are present in all bovids (ex: cattle, antelope, sheep, goats, etc.) They're permanent fixtures, so if they get injured or broken off, it takes a long time for them to regrow.
Antlers are made of bone and are regrown annually by all deer species except water deer. The antlers start out as highly vascular bone tissue covered in thin skin, or velvet, which peels off to leave behind dead bone. They'll drop off every year, meaning injuries or broken tines don't matter much -- however, they take an incredible amount of nutrients to grow. They're also heavier than horns.
Pronghorns, not being cervids or bovids, entered a cheat code and managed to get the best of both worlds. They have horns, but shed the sheaths annually around November or December. So, they don't have to deal with old injuries (except those directly to the horn core), and don't have to put much effort into regrowth.
This is a lovely blog! I have to ask, how do you identify fawns? What features do you look for to differentiate between species?
Thank you, glad you like the blog! Fawns are the most difficult to ID because they often haven't grown into their color yet, but I tend to look for whatever traits define a species the best. Some common examples:
Whitetails: Tail
Mule deer: Mask, ears
Fallow deer: Head (wide)
Sika deer: Head (long)
(Glands and more subtle facial markings are also good indicators)
