White-tailed Deer - South Pacific | Online Record Book Preview

Odocoileus virginianus

Venado cola blanca (Sp), Virginia Hirsch (G), Cerf à queue blanche, Cerf de Virginie (F).

DESCRIPTION (male) Shoulder height 36-40 inches (91-102 cm). Weight 110-250 pounds (50-115 kg), average 150 pounds (68 kg). Females are considerably smaller.The white-tailed deer is a graceful, medium-sized deer with a long slender neck, a narrow face, fairly large ears, and long slim legs. The summer coat is reddish-brown in color and very soft-more like fur than hair. Winter coat is gray or grayish-brown. There is a white stripe around the nose and chin, white markings near the eyes, and a white throat patch. Underparts, inside of legs, and rump are white. The large, bushy tail can be as long as 18 inches (46 cm). It is brown on top with white edges and all white underneath, with erectile hairs that flare out when the tail is raised as an alarm signal. The main antler beams grow from the back of the head and curve forward and inward over the face. Typical antlers will have several short, unbranched tines that grow up from the top of each beam. In addition, a single brow tine (eye-guard) commonly occurs on each antler, but is not always present. Non-typical tines are those that grow from the side or bottom of the main beam, or from the burr, or from another tine. Additional brow tines (more then one to an antler) are also non-typical.

DISTRIBUTION First introduced in Europe in 1870 in Austria, but have since disappeared from that country. They were introduced for hunting in southwestern Finland in 1934, and have thrived and expanded their range there; nearly 15,000 were harvested in 1980. Introduced (after 1890) southwest of Prague in what is now the Czech Republic, and a small free-ranging population survives in central Bohemia. Also introduced (1970-1973) near Belgrade, Serbia, and subsequently (1975) on the island of Brâc off the southern coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea.

REMARKS Some fine whitetails have been recorded from Finland, the best being a 13-pointer taken in 1966 that measured 29-1/8 inches (740 mm) on the main beam and 20-7/8 inches (530 mm) for inside span. Several other heads of note carried 10 to 11 points and had main beams from 23-5/8 inches (600 mm) to 25-3/4 inches (654 mm) in length (Rowland Ward).