white-tailed deer: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Odocoileus virginianus • Virginia deer

Photos

male white-tailed deer

White-tailed deer

Illustration of a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with a brown coat, white underside, and antlers, shown in a grazing posture.

A four-month-old whitetail deer fawn (Odocoileus virginianus) with white spots stands on grass near a small pine tree, looking over its shoulder.

White-tailed deer in a winter forest along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Caldwell county, western North Carolina, U.S.

White-tailed deer buck (Odocoileus virginianus) with large antlers stands in tall, dry grass, blending into the brown and tan background of a wooded area.

Shadow pattern: mottling of the fawn's coat (Odocoileus virginianus) provides protection.

A Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) stands on a gravel path surrounded by grass and low vegetation, looking toward the camera.

Illustration of various animals running or moving, each labeled with its top speed, including cheetah, pronghorn antelope, ostrich, giraffe, elephant, deer, gazelle, greyhound, jackrabbit, fox, emu, roadrunner, warthog, rhinoceros, Mongolian wild ass, two-toed sloth, and desert tortoise.

See All Images →

Topics

Key deer mule deer

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz