White-tailed deer Facts for Kids
Odocoileus virginianus · oh-doh-KOY-lee-us vir-jin-ee-AY-nus
A white-tailed deer flashes its white tail to warn other deer.
- 🏃 30 mph48 km/h1
- ⚖️ 90 to 300 lb41 to 136 kg2
- 📏 30 to 36 in76 to 91 cm2 tall
- 🎂 10 years10 years3
- 🍽️ plants
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
White-tailed deer have a fluffy white tail. Baby deer, called fawns, are born with white spots. They hide in tall grass and wait for their mother.
When a white-tailed deer senses danger, it raises its tail to show the bright white underside and bounds away. This flag warns other deer to run too. A fawn has white spots that help it hide on the forest floor, and almost no smell.
White-tailed deer live in woods, fields and even the edges of towns, and they are busiest at dawn and dusk. They are ruminants, which means they swallow their food quickly and chew it again later in a safe, hidden spot. Their eyes sit on the sides of their head, so they can see almost all the way around, and they run fast and swim well. Careful wildlife rules have helped deer numbers recover in places where they were once rare.
How big is a white-tailed deer?
White-tailed deer in numbers
| Length | no checked number yet |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 to 36 in76 to 91 cm2mature buck |
| Weight | 90 to 300 lb41 to 136 kg2 |
| Top speed (running) | 30 mph48 km/h1running |
| How long it lives | 10 years10 years3 |
| What it eats | leaves, twigs, acorns, grasses and fruit |
| Where it lives | woods, fields and the edges of towns across North America, and south into northern South America |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)4 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A fawn is born with white spots and almost no scent.
- A buck drops his antlers each winter and grows new ones in spring.
- White-tailed deer are great jumpers and swimmers.
Compare the white-tailed deer
Friends and neighbours
Moose
Eastern gray squirrel
RaccoonThree questions
Books about the white-tailed deer, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the white-tailed deer for free.
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Prince William Forest Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Chattahoochee River, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, White-tailed deer (Q215887), checked 30 October 2026.