Deer

Members of the Cervidae family, deer are ruminant animals—meaning they are hooved and digest their food through a process of rumination on regurgitated cud; and possessing antlers, rather than horns. Indigenous to most of the world, some of the more than 30 species of deer can be found on every continent.

Throughout human history in North America, white-tailed deer and mule deer have been closely tied with human land use, economic activities, and cultural values. Unlike many other wildlife species, deer thrive in human-managed landscapes, and their populations have fluctuated with changing human practices. The tendency of deer to live near human settlements stems from their preference for a fine-grained mosaic of fields and forest, which provides an ideal combination of abundant food and ready access ...