The White Tailed Deer

The White Tailed Deer population in southeast Georgia is a wildlife management success story. In the last 50 years the deer population has come from being scarce to being plentiful .Georgia's' deer population has grown from around 33,000 in 1951 to around 1 million today.While deer hunting has become the most popular type of hunting in Georgia, the deer population has grown to the point that the deer has become a danger to vehicle traffic on highways  and a problem to farmers and their crops.

  White tailed deer favorite foods are grasses, tender leaves, grains, acorns, palmetto berries and huckelberries. An adult can weigh up to 135 pounds.The mature males grow horns each summer and shed them each spring. Male deer are called "Bucks" and females are called "Does". The young are called "Fawns" and are born in the Spring. The new born fawns , usually 1 to 3, are a reddish-brown color with white spots. They can walk a short time after being born and this is the time when they are most vulnerable to predators. Adult males do not breed until their second year . Adult females can breed at 1-1/2 years.

  The white tailed deer has become quite adaptable to urban expansion into their territory .Seeing deer in small wooded areas inside city limit signs is not unusual.