Odocoileus+virginianus

=__**odocoileus virginianus**__=

Some common names for Odocoileus Virginianus are white-tailed deer,whitetail,deer,Columbian white-tailed deer,Key deer, Long tailed deer. There are 38 subspecies of white-tailed deer in North, Central, and South America. Sixteen of these are found in the United States and Canada. Subspecies are distinguished by geographic location, body size, coloration, antler growth, and physiological, biochemical, and behavioral differences. The species is most common east of the Rocky Mountains, and is absent from much of the western United States, including Nevada, Californi, and Alaska It does, however, survive in parklands and deciduous river bottomlands within the central and northern plains, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the northern and the rocky mountain regions.

__**Description**__
The deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail, which it shows as a signal of alarm by raising the tail during escape. There is a population of white-tailed deer in the state of New York that is entirely white.

The North American male deer usually weighs 130 to 300 pounds but, in rare cases, bucks in excess of 375 pounds have been recorded. It was estimated at 511 pounds live weight The female usually weighs from 90 to 200 pounds Length ranges from 62 to 87 inches, including the tail, and the shoulder height is 32 to 40 inches. White-tailed deer from the tropics tend to be smaller than in temperate populations.

__Behaviour__
Males compete for the opportunity of breeding females. many females as possible, losing physical condition since they rarely eat or rest during the rut. The general geographical trend is for the rut to be shorter in duration at increased latitude. There are many factors as to how intense the "rutting season" will be. Air temperature is one major factor of this intensity. Any time the temperature rises above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the males will do much less traveling looking for females, or they will be subject to overheating or dehydrating. Another factor for the strength in rutting activity is competition. If there are numerous males in a particular area, then they will compete more for the females. If there are fewer males or more females, then the selection process will not need to be as competitive.

__**Life Circle**__
white tailed deer mate during the month of november in the northern part of the range,and in january and Febuary in the southern part of the range. After three months of mating the flaws are redish-brown at birth and white spot to camaflouge them. The female flaws must stay with their mother the first two years after birth, the male flaws leave after the first year. To protect her flaws the mother would hid the baby for few hours if she has few babies she would seperate them. While they are waiting for their mother to return, the fawns lay on the ground with their heads and necks stretched out flat on the ground. This makes it harder for predators to find them.