The beautiful Whitetail Deer was once hunted nearly to extinction. Fortunately, these lovely animals have made a comeback and are now found abundantly throughout much of North America.

Whitetail Deer acquired their name from their white tails, which they flash as a warning signal while they run when startled. Although most active at dawn and dusk, Whitetail Deer are generally up and about during all hours of the day. Whitetail Deer run with bounding leaps, and are agile jumpers. They can clear heights of up to eight and a half feet and can make horizontal jumps of up to 30 feet! Generally, a Whitetail Deer can run at about 35 miles per hour. Apart from running and jumping, Whitetail Deer are also good swimmers! Most often, Whitetail Deer are observed in small groups of between two and ten animals. These groups will often disband and form again throughout the summer. At this time the deer tend to be more inclined to solitary lifestyles. Generally these small impermanent groups are comprised of same-sex animals. When alarmed, Whitetail Deer will stamp their hooves and snort before flashing their white tails and fleeing. In the winter, male and female groups of Whitetail Deer will congregate in larger herds of up to 150 animals! This helps them to survive predation and allows them to keep snowy trails more passable. Such winter grouping of Whitetail Deer is known as "yarding up". During winter months, Whitetail Deer may browse on bark, although in spring and summer they prefer leaves or vegetation. In fall, Whitetail Deer may subsist on nuts or acorns.

In the winter, Whitetail Deer are grayish brown in color, although their summer coats are a light reddish or golden brown. They have white nosebands and eye rings, and the undersides and throats of these deer are white. Usually Whitetail Deer stand between 27 and 45 inches at the shoulder, and their characteristic tails are between six and 13 inches long. The Whitetail Deer buck usually weighs between 150 and 310 pounds, while the doe is smaller, generally weighing between 90 and 210 pounds. Whitetail bucks grow antlers when they are mature; usually having one spike the first time they grow antlers, and acquiring more later. However, the age of a Whitetail Deer is usually not determined by the number of spikes or points on its antlers but by the wear of its teeth. Antlers are usually shed between January and February, depending on region. The antlers begin growing again in late spring, and usually velvet is shed off of them in August and September. Scent glands are located on the legs of Whitetail Deer, which they use to mark their territory. Fawns lack these scent glands.

Whitetail Deer inhabit forested and scrubland areas of North and Central America, and may even extend down into South America. They are quite abundant due to the loss of mountain lions and other predators hunted by man. The deer themselves are a popular game animal hunted for meat and sport. They are well loved by hikers, photographers, naturalists, and other scientists who may easily observe them in their natural habitats. Threats to Whitetail Deer are posed by man, who hunt them and may strike them accidentally with motor vehicles. They may cause damage to gardens and crops and may not be well liked by agriculturalists. Although Whitetail Deer were once hunted to endangerment, today they are better managed and have steady population numbers.

Whitetail Deer may be shy of other deer and are generally solitary animals outside of breeding and fawn rearing seasons.

Usually Whitetail Deer breed in winter, from November through February. A doe will begin breeding between seven and 24 months of age. She comes into heat for only short periods of time, and if she is not pregnant, a Whitetail doe will go into heat again four weeks later. Although first-bred does will usually have a single fawn, most females will bear twins or even triplets after a gestation period of about six and a half months. Generally, a buck will mate with several does. Bucks clash antlers and fight over females. The Whitetail fawns are spotted to camouflage themselves from predators and usually are hidden in brush or undergrowth, waiting for their mother to feed them, although they are capable of walking a few hours after they are born. Whitetail Deer are usually weaned by six weeks of age. They will remain with the mother for years, but when she is ready to breed again she will drive them away.