The August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area was purchased by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1947 from the federal government. Mrs. August A. Busch Sr.
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Scientific Name
Odocoileus virginianus
Family
Cervidae (deer) in the order Artiodactyla
Description
In summer, white-tailed deer are reddish-brown to tan above; in winter, the colors are grayish to grayish brown. The belly, chin, throat, and underside of the tail remain white all year.
Fawns are reddish brown and spotted with white; they lose their spots and acquire uniform coloration at 3–5 months of age when transitioning to their first winter coat.
Antlers normally occur only in males and are formed and shed each year. In Missouri, antler growth typically starts in April and is completed in August. Antlers are shed mostly in February and March.
During the antler-growth period, the soft skin and short hair covering the antlers have a plush quality, giving this stage the name of "velvet."
The white-tailed deer is aptly named because the white undersurface of its flaglike tail is highly visible as it flees danger with its tail held high.
Similar species: Elk are being introduced to certain parts of the Missouri Ozarks. They are the only member of the deer family you are likely to see in Missouri's natural landscapes.
Size
Total length: approximately 6 feet; tail length: about 8 inches; weight: 110–145 pounds (females); 155–195 pounds (males).
Where To Find
Statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Deer live in a wide variety of habitats, but in Missouri, they associated closely with timbered areas. Deer especially utilize transition areas between woodland edges and clearings or agricultural fields, where they forage on a wide variety of plant species.
Deer management in Missouri focuses on promoting healthy populations statewide, providing opportunities for citizens to enjoy deer-related activities such as hunting and viewing, and limiting impacts of diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Food
Deer are herbivores, eating the leaves, twigs, fruits, and nuts of trees and shrubs, and the foliage of herbaceous plants. They also consume succulent grasses, agricultural crops, and occasionally fungi, mosses, and lichens.
Status
Common.
A variety of diseases and parasites can affect deer, but the most worrisome disease today is chronic wasting disease (CWD), which was detected Missouri's wild white-tailed deer herd in 2012.
- CWD is a fatal, contagious, prion disease of deer and other members of the deer family that causes abnormal behavior, loss of body function leading to emaciation, and eventually death.
- CWD is a slowly progressing syndrome that takes 1–2 years for clinical signs to appear.
- During the prolonged period between infection and clinical signs of disease, infected deer excrete infectious prions into the environment via defecation, urination, or salivation, which can transmit the disease to other deer.
- CWD can be spread through the movements of infected free-ranging deer and through human-facilitated movement of infected captive deer.
- Disease transmission may also occur through movement of infected carcasses of hunter-harvested deer.
- Once established in a local deer population, CWD will increase in prevalence, reducing survival rates and leading to long-term population declines unless management actions are taken to limit prevalence and spread.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
In Missouri, the peak of the mating (rutting) season is in mid-November. Gestation (pregnancy) lasts around 200 days, and most young are born in late May or early June. Although a single fawn or triplets can occur, an adult doe usually has twins, each weighing 4–7 pounds at birth. The young typically accompany their mother until she gives birth the following year.
A small number of female deer in Missouri breed in the year of their birth, while most will breed for the first time at 1½ years of age. Deer are in the prime of life between 2½ and 7½ years of age. Deer can live for 15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity.
Control
Human Connections
Deer were essential to Native Americans and to early settlers, providing food, hides, sinews for bowstrings, bones for tools, and much more.
Today, deer are still widely used for food. Hunting and wildlife viewing are popular activities and cultural traditions for many Missourians.
Negative human-deer interactions sometimes occur, such as when deer cause damage to crops, landscaping, or other property, increase grazing competition for livestock, or are involved in deer-vehicle collisions.
Ecosystem Connections
As deer nip off buds and branches, they encourage denser growth on their forage plants.
When deer are overabundant, they can cause serious damage to plant populations and limit forest regeneration
Deer also serve as an important food source for coyotes, bobcats, and scavengers.
Signs and Tracks
Signs and Tracks Image
Signs and Tracks
Front and hind tracks:
- 2½–4 inches long
- 2 hooves
- Front track is larger than hind.
Other notes:
- Very common in Missouri.
- Each track is heart-shaped overall (not parallel), with a split down the middle (2-part hooves).
- The hooves are pointed.
- When running, the hooves may spread, and the two dewclaws may leave dots just behind each track, especially when bounding on mud or snow.
- Distance of stride is about 1 foot (walking); can be 10–15 feet when bounding.
- Although pigs, sheep, and goats also leave split-hoof tracks, only the deer’s tracks are heart-shaped overall and pointed. Elk tracks are much larger and less pointed.
Other signs:
- Rubs: Just before and throughout breeding season, male deer rub their antlers against trees, breaking and shredding the bark.
- Scrapes: Prior to and during the breeding season, male deer will also make scrapes on the ground.
- Scrapes are areas where male deer use their hooves to paw away leaves and expose bare dirt.
- Scrapes are made directly below a "licking branch," on which the bucks rub their mouth and head.
- Secretions: Bucks leave secretions from glands when making rubs and scrapes, and when rubbing on their licking branches. This allows them to communicate with other deer in the area.
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Media Gallery
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A buck with large rack stands in dry winter grass near woods.
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Albino deer at Jefferson Barracks Park
Credit
Submitted by Mike Serati
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Greene County
Credit
Submitted by Ewa Michalska
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Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Video of white-tailed deer in the wild.
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Right to Use
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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A White-Tailed Deer fawn stands in the wetland at Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge in Annada, MO.
Credit
Noppadol Paothong
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Photo by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Noppadol Paothong
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Photo by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Credit
Noppadol Paothong
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Photo by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Caption
This white-tailed deer fawn showed up outside MDC Internal Auditor Nancy Dubbert's office window in mid-June.
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Similar Species
Similar Species
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Where to See Species
Caney Mountain Conservation Area is in Ozark County, five miles north of Gainsville.
Peck Ranch consists of 23,763 acres of rugged, forested hills and hollows. Limestone and rhyolite glades provide natural openings among the oak-pine forest that dominates the region.
Drury-Mincy Conservation Area is in southern Taney County, southeast of Branson, off of Route J.
The James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area is located in Jackson County, south of Highway 50 near Lee's Summit. This wildlife area was established in 1952 after Mrs.
About Mammals in Missouri
More than 70 species of wild mammals live in Missouri: opossums; shrews and moles; bats; rabbits; woodchuck, squirrels, beaver, mice, voles, and other rodents; coyote, foxes, bear, raccoon, weasels, otter, mink, skunks, bobcat, and other carnivores; deer and elk; and more. Most of us recognize mammals easily — they have fur, are warm-blooded, nurse their young, and breathe air.
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