Indiana Whitetail Deer
Created by Duane Malloy
Indiana Whitetail
Deer
•Very likely to be seen at
O’Bannon Woods.
•Close to extinction in
Indiana in the 1930’s, due
to overhunting.
•In 1934, the Division of
Fish and Game began
restocking with about 400
deer which were trapped
and transferred from other
nearby states.
Classification and
Characteristics
•The best known
characteristics of this family
is that males (called bucks)
have antlers.
•The number of points on a
buck's rack is not an
indication of age. A
combination of factors,
including age, nutrition and
genetics affect antler
development.
•An average adult males
weighs 175 pounds.
Classification and
Characteristics
•Deer are in their prime at
three to six years of age.
•They may live to 20 years
or more in captivity, but in
the wild, a whitetail that
lives to age 10 is
considered old.
•Females (called does)
weigh about 120 pounds.
Classification and
Characteristics
•Young deer, called fawns,
wear a reddish-brown coat
with white spots that helps
them blend in with the
forest.
•In August and September,
the summer coat is shed;
the fawn loses its spots
and prepares for winter
along with adult deer.
Reproduction
•Does may breed at six to
seven months of age but
generally breed for the first
time when 1 1/2 years old.
•Bucks are physiologically
ready to breed at 1 1/2
years of age
•Fawns are born in late
May or early June after
200-day gestation period.
Reproduction
•A doe in good condition
will generally produce two
fawns.
•At birth, fawns weigh only
four to eight pounds;
however they grow rapidly,
doubling their weight in
just two weeks.
•Fawns will usually travel
with their mother through
their first winter.
Food Habits
•Deer consume primarily
wild herbs, fruits and
agricultural crops when
available.
•Farmers suffer damaged
crops particularly corn and
soybeans, due to deer.
•I saw over 100 deer when
spotlighting, mostly in
soybean fields.
Defense
•They use speed and agility
to outrun predators.
•Sprinting up to 30 miles
per hour.
•Leaping as high as 10 feet
and as far as 30 feet in a
single bound.
•You can see how they get
their name, “Whitetail”.
Hunting
•The number of deer in
Indiana has increased
steadily since their
reintroduction in the
1930s.
•Concerns about deer
vehicle collisions and crop
damage by deer led to the
lowering of the deer
population in selected
counties in the 1980s.
Hunting
•Deer hunting
provides recreation to
nearly 200,000
Hoosier sportsman
each year.