Fun Facts About White Tailed Deer
White tailed deer are very popular in Central America. In Costa Rica they are commonly seen in the rainforest of Guanacaste. White-tailed deer can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. They also live in much of the Central American territory.
The deer’s coat is a reddish-brown in the summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the winter. They eat large varieties of food, commonly legumes and other plants, including shoots, leaves, cactus, and grasses. The white-tailed deer is a ruminant, which means it has a four-chambered stomach like cows.
These guys are 0.9 to 1 m tall at shoulder. Males weight up to 400 pounds and females weigh up to 200 pounds. They rarely live more than 10 years but there have been cases of 20 year deer. A great indication of age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat. Older deer tend to have longer snouts and grayer coats.
They normally form groups of 2 to six individuals, but there have been groups of up to 15. When the breeding season comes males will try to copulate with as many females as possible. If there are numerous males in a particular area, they will compete for the females. This will cause them to lose physical condition since they rarely eat or rest during the rut. Females give birth to 1-3 spotted young, known as fawns generally in May or June. Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and will weigh from 44 to 77 pounds by the first winter.
Because humans and deer often share habitats, there can be problems for both of them. When a deer’s habitat becomes smaller often eat food from gardens. They also need to cross roads to look for food or water and some are struck by cars.
Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, lives in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for the past decade. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. Having first hand experience of all the places with her family, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!
