White-tailed Deer

Description:

Antler development is important to many hunters and deer observers. Buck antler development is controlled by age, nutrition, and genetics. However, in Georgia genetics do not appear to be an important factor. For most deer in this state, age is the single most limiting factor for antler development, followed by nutrition. Under heavy hunting pressure, bucks simply do not live long enough to produce large antlers. In parts of the Lower Coastal Plain and Mountains, bucks live much longer but nutrition levels often are poor which limits antler development. Likewise, poor nutrition also occurs in the Piedmont when deer herds get so large that their food supply is reduced in quality or quantity resulting in poor antler growth.

Habitat:

The white-tailed deer is a woodland species. In North America, the species is most common east of the Rocky Mountains, and is absent from much of the western United States, including Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii, and Alaska. Deer are known as generalists because of their ability to thrive in a wide variety of habitats including forests, woodlots, suburbs, golf courses, extensive agriculture, swamps and coastal marshes.

Notes:

Spotted on the campus of Berry College in Rome, GA