WHITE-TAILED DEER 



able weapons of offense. In these fights of the bulls for the 

 cows, the vanquished one usually knows when he has had 

 enough and takes the first chance to leave the field, but some- 

 times the combat has a fatal ending; and, on rare occasions, 

 the horns of the fighting pair become so firmly interlocked 

 that the tired animals can not break them apart, and both die. 

 The young are bom in May or early June and while but 

 one is the usual number, there may be two or, rarely, three 

 to a mother. They are spotted like the other North American 

 Deer and keep this dappled coat until the new autumn pelage 

 comes in. 



Genus Odocoileus 

 Dentition : Incisors, f ; Canines, § ; Premolars, f ; Molars, f =32. 



Virginia Deer. — Odocoileus virginianus 



and related forms 



Names. — Virginia Deer; White-tailed Deer; White-tail. 



General Description. — A large, gracefully-formed Deerj the 

 male with antlers which are shed in the spring, the female 

 hornless. Tail rather long for a Deer, somewhat bushy, con- 

 spicuously white on the underside; antlers of full-grown male 

 of good size, no brow- tines, the branches directed forward; 

 hair long and slightly brittle in character. Plate XLIII. 



Color. — Sexes alike in color; noticeable seasonal variation. 



Summer. — Upperparts reddish brown to ochraceous buff, 

 band across nose, ring about eye, and inside of ear whitish; 

 spot on each side of nose blackish, tail dusky. Underparts: 

 belly, throat, and inside of legs whitish; tail conspicuously 

 white. 



Winter. — Like summer but grayish to grayish brown in- 

 stead of reddish above; hair longer and pelage heavier than in 

 summer. 



Young. — Reddish brown or rufous, with white spots, the 

 spots persisting until the end of the fourth or fifth month. 



Measurements. — Males: Total length, 70-77 inches; tail 

 vertebras, 7-1 1 inches; hind foot, 20 inches; height at shoulder, 

 36-40 inches; weight, 150-300 pounds, occasionally heavier; 

 antlers of prime adult normally 5 or 6 points. Females some- 



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