Doe at Baxter State Park, ME
Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
The deer is one of the animals people think about seeing in the White Mountain National Forest. The adults range in size from 125 lbs to 250 lbs, with the does being smaller than the bucks. Males have antlers which start growing in the spring, lose their velvet in late summer, and are shed in the winter. The coat is generally brown, turning more red in the summer and grey in the winter. Fawns are spotted at birth and lose the spots by their first winter.Deer can be spotted throught the Whites, although generally not at altitude. In the winter, deer yards can be spotted as tracked down areas in the snow where small groups spend the night. In the summer, the group is a doe and her fawns. Bucks are more solitary, but occasionally travel in small groups.
They are very skittish, and usually will flee and first site or scent of humans. A deer can run up to 30 MPH in the forest, and will swim to avoid preditors. Does hide their young fawns in the brush and they will lie still all day, being nearly invisible to preditors. They feed on the buds and twigs of trees, loving areas that grow back after being cut. You can often see them on the edge of fields.
- Deer Track Identification
- Doe and Fawn
- Unafraid of human contact
- Detailed Description from U of Mich
- Description from Wittenberg
- The Great Outdoors
- Pittsburg Zoo
