White-Tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer is an animal that is familiar to almost all people. Recognized by its long legs, hoofed feet, brown coat and a tail with a white underside, it is an animal that is experiencing a population boom. Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 30 million deer in North America. White-tailed deer are herbivores - eating only plant material such as leaves, twigs, flowers, fruit, grass, moss and fungi. They like to live near a forest edge, where the trees provide shelter and open fields provide better food. Since they grow to be up to 78 inches long and weigh between 100 and 300 pounds, the only predators of adults are mountain lions and man. Today, white-tailed deer are the largest animals to roam the Loess Hills, but that wasn't always true. Prior to European settlement, when the hills were wild and covered with prairies, bison and elk were much more abundant than deer. The loss of prairie and increase in woodland, combined with widespread agriculture, has made the Loess Hills a better habitat for deer. Deer have become so abundant that some woodlands are becoming destroyed by the deer eating too many of the young plants.