White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a mammal in the deer family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla, also called Whitetail, Virginia deer, Key deer, White deer and American deer. It is a large, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with an adult body mass of 55.5 kg, with reported values from 44.8 to 65.3 kg.
Quick facts about the white-tailed deer
Gestation lasts 201 days, and females have one litter per year of 1 to 3 young. Its lifespan is 21.6 years, with values up to 23 years, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 44.8 kg – 65.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 23 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 201 days – 206 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.2 months – 13.7 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the white-tailed deer
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the white-tailed deer live?
Not recorded
What is the white-tailed deer?
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North and South America. It is the most widely distributed mainland ungulate herbivore in the Americas; coupled with its natural predator, the mountain lion (Puma concolor), it is one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammal species in the Americas and the world. Highly adaptable, the various subspecies of white-tailed deer inhabit many different ecosystems, from arid grasslands to the Amazon and Orinoco basins; from the Llanos to the high-elevation terrain of the Andes.
From the Wikipedia article “White-tailed deer” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-tailed_deer&oldid=1379640348), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the white-tailed deer endangered?
The white-tailed deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the white-tailed deer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCervidae
- genusOdocoileus
- SpeciesOdocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)
Synonyms Dama virginiana, Dama virginianus
Other names and names in other languages (76)
- American deerEnglish
- Common American deerEnglish
- Flag-tailed deerEnglish
- Key deerEnglish
- Key deer toy deerEnglish
- Virginia deerEnglish
- White deerEnglish
- White tail deerEnglish
- White tailed deerEnglish
- WhitetailEnglish
- WitsterthertAfrikaans
- OwansaneAkan
- LapittaAlabama
- أيل أبيض الذيلArabic
- venáu raublancuAsturian
- ᎠᏫCherokee
- Cuø³ nung²cpa
- jelenec běloocasýCzech
- Hvidhalet hjortDanish
- VirginiahirschGerman
- WeißwedelhirschGerman
- Λευκόουρο ΕλάφιGreek
- Ωδόκοιλος της ΑμερικήςGreek
- Blankavosta cervoEsperanto
- CariacSpanish
- CapasuríSpanish
- CariacúSpanish
- Ciervo de cola blancaSpanish
- Venado cola blancaSpanish
- Venado de cola blancaSpanish
- Valgesaba-pampahirvEstonian
- Valgesaba-hirvEstonian
- LaukonpeuraFinnish
- valkohäntäkaurisFinnish
- ValkohäntäpeuraFinnish
- chevreuilFrench
- cerf de VirginieFrench
- Chevreuil de VirginieFrench
- Cervo virxinianoGalician
- אייל פרדי לבן-זנבHebrew
- fehérfarkú szarvasHungarian
- Cervo coda biancaItalian
- Cervo della VirginiaItalian
- オジロジカJapanese
- Ақ құйрықты бұғыKazakh
- 흰꼬리사슴Korean
- 버지니아사슴Korean
- Baltauodegis elniasLithuanian
- Baltastes briedisLatvian
- TiaMāori
- Bįįh bitseełgaiígííNavajo
- Bįįh bitseeʼ łigaaígííNavajo
- hvithalehjortNorwegian Bokmål
- virginiahjortNorwegian Bokmål
- VirginiahertDutch
- WitstaarthertDutch
- waawaashkeshOjibwa
- WaawaashkeshiOjibwa
- Jeleń wirginijskiPolish
- Mulak białoogonowyPolish
- CariacuPortuguese
- Veado-da-VirgíniaPortuguese
- Veado-de-cauda-brancaPortuguese
- Qichwa luwichuQuechua
- Виргинский оленьRussian
- Белохвостый оленьRussian
- belorepi jelenSlovenian
- Белорепи ЈеленSerbian
- vitsvanshjortSwedish
- తెల్ల తోక గల జింకTelugu
- กวางเวอร์จิเนียThai
- Ak kuyruklu geyikTurkish
- Beyazkuyruklu Katırkulaklı GeyikTurkish
- Американський олень білохвостийUkrainian
- Ottuckewam
- 白尾鹿Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the white-tailed deer
Other species in the same genus Odocoileus.
CompareWhite-tailed deer vs Mule deerWhite-tailed deer vs Yucatan brown brocketWhite-tailed deer vs Odocoileus speleus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a white-tailed deer?
An adult White-tailed deer weighs 55.5 kg, with reported values from 44.8 to 65.3 kg.
What does the white-tailed deer eat?
The white-tailed deer is a herbivore.
How long does a white-tailed deer live?
The white-tailed deer has a lifespan of 21.6 years, with values reported up to 23 years.
How many young does a white-tailed deer have?
A white-tailed deer has 1 to 3 young per litter and one litter per year, after a gestation of 201 days.
When does a white-tailed deer reach sexual maturity?
A white-tailed deer reaches sexual maturity at 363 days, with reported values from 309 to 417 days.
What kind of animal is the white-tailed deer?
The white-tailed deer is a mammal in the family Cervidae, subfamily Capreolinae, order Artiodactyla.
Who named the white-tailed deer?
The white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, was named by Zimmermann in 1780, written as (Zimmermann, 1780).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-deer
“White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-deer.
@misc{white_tailed_deer_2026,
title = {White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-deer},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}