White tailed deer are very popular in Central America. In Costa Rica they are commonly seen in the rainforest of Guanacaste. They also live in much of the Central American territory. White-tailed deer can adapt to a wide variety of habitats.
The deer’s coat is a reddish-brown in the summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the winter. The white-tailed deer is a ruminant, which means it has a four-chambered stomach like cows. They eat large varieties of food, commonly legumes and other plants, including shoots, leaves, cactus, and grasses.
These guys are 0.9 to 1 m tall at shoulder. A great indication of age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat. Older deer tend to have longer snouts and grayer coats. Males weight up to 400 pounds and females weigh up to 200 pounds. They rarely live more than 10 years but there have been cases of 20 year deer.
When the breeding season comes males will try to copulate with as many females as possible. If there are numerous males in a particular area, they will compete for the females. This will cause them to lose physical condition since they rarely eat or rest during the rut. Females give birth to 1-3 spotted young, known as fawns generally in May or June. Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and will weigh from 44 to 77 pounds by the first winter. They normally form groups of 2 to six individuals, but there have been groups of up to 15.
Because humans and deer often share habitats, there can be problems for both of them. When a deer’s habitat becomes smaller often eat food from gardens. They also need to cross roads to look for food or water and some are struck by cars.
Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She has traveled here extensively. Now loves organizing vacations to this amazing part of the world, having first hand experience of all the places with her family. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!