In the first image, you can see an 8 point whitetail buck grazing. Notice how the points on each antler branch off of the main beam of the antler.

In the second image, you see a yearling male with his “spike set” of antlers. After this point, telling the age of a deer by his antlers is uncertain. Tooth number and wear is a more reliable estimate of age.

In the third image is an older male with a 10 point set of antlers. This image demonstrates the Whitetail arrangement of points on the antlers.

In the final image, a ten point muledeer buck is pictured. Notice the bifurcation of the antlers wherever a branch or a tine is produced. This character, the length of the ears, and the tail markings are the distinguishing characters between whitetail deer and muledeer.

The post How Whitetail Deer Antlers Differ From Muledeer Antlers appeared first on GJM Nature Media.

In the picture above is a whitetail doe, Odocoileus virginianus, in a woodland clearing. This picture was taken in mid-September and shows the light brown pelage of spring and summer.

In the second picture, you see another whitetail doe whose pelage has transitioned to the greyish winter coloration. This picture was taken in early November of the same year and same locality. The deer, however, were different individuals.

Aside from the beauty of the scenes and the subjects, what can be learned here is that color transition in whitetails seems to happen within a fairly short time.

The post Do Whitetails Turn Gray by November? appeared first on GJM Nature Media.

These two white-tail bucks (Odocoileus virginianus) were having a sparring match when I pulled up. From what I could tell, they seemed to know each other and the one on the right is an older animal.  It struck me as a training session for the younger animal because it was more like wrestling than fighting for mates. Also, these two left together when the lesson ended

The post Older White-tail Buck Shows a Younger Buck What Yield Means appeared first on GJM Nature Media.

The doe above shows some variation in distribution of white and brown hairs on her summer pelage. This is an example of an inherited change which if successful will rise in frequency of occurrence in the deer population.

The third deer is a doe displaying the gray shades of the winter coat. Anyone who has been in the Texas deciduous forests during winter can see how gray would be an advantage for concealment.

For an animal as large and as tasty to predators, whitetail deer benefit from protective coloration. Females need to be unseen especially when they have fawns or adolescents with them.

The post Whitetail Deer Change Colors with the Seasons appeared first on GJM Nature Media.