White-tailed Deer

Description:

The White-tailed Deer has a 6-11 inch bushy tail. The animal erects the tail when disturbed, showing the white hairs of the outer edge and under surface. The average adult female weighs 155 lbs and may stand 39" tall at shoulder height. They have long, slender legs, each bearing two narrow, pointed hooves. Walking, trotting, bounding, and running are the normal gaits of a white-tailed deer, capable of running at speeds up to 35 mph for several miles and leaping obstacles 8.5 ft in height. This species also swims well, and frequently enters water in summer to forage. Fawns are born in May or June at 3-6 lbs and won't be weaned for 4-6 months. Their spotted coat will turn grayish brown in September or October. This pair was photographed in Rogers Rock, NY, in the Adirondack Park, with a telephoto lens from inside our car.

Habitat:

Can be most often found in the openings and edges of deciduous and mixed forests, brushy fields, wooded farmlands and mature stands of conifers that provide winter shelter. An adaptable but selective herbivore, the white-tailed deer grazes and browses the most nutritious plants available. An adult white-tailed deer requires approximately 5-7 lb of food per day, although energy demands vary seasonally, and are greatest for pregnant and lactating females. (http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/wtd....) Today the white-tailed deer population in the Adirondacks is estimated to be between sixty thousand and eighty thousand. (http://www.adirondackexplorer.org/storie...)

Notes:

•The Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the continental U.S.; it is larger than Yosemite, Everglades, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Parks combined. •The park lies just 200 miles north of New York City, and 100 million people live within a day’s drive. •Approximately half the Park is state-owned as part of the New York Forest Preserve, which is constitutionally protected to be “forever kept as wild forest lands.” (http://www.wcs.org/saving-wild-places/no...)