# White-tailed deer (*Odocoileus virginianus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-deer  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 44.8 kg – 65.3 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 21.6 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 23 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Gestation | 201 days – 206 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 – 3 |
| Age at maturity | 10.2 months – 13.7 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Cervidae
- genus: Odocoileus
- species: *Odocoileus virginianus* (Zimmermann, 1780)

Synonyms: *Dama virginiana*, *Dama virginianus*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-deer