Deer: Florida vs. New Jersey

Deer: Florida vs. New Jersey

Jessie Dominick

       In the United States, we have many deer constantly all over the place. Whether they're running in front of traffic or grazing alongside a field of green, they are very well known and well seen. The most common deer we see is the white-tailed deer, which gets its name from the white ploof at the back of their tails. Both males and females have these white tails as a defense mechanism to ward off potential predators. Fun fact: These deer that we see all the time in New Jersey are actually the same deer that we see in Florida!  The big difference in these two animals, although the same, is their size.
       The white tailed deer in New Jersey commonly grow to about 175lbs (buck). They're lanky and rather tall, actually the tallest of the white tailed deer.  Their common name is Odocoileus virginianus borealis (borealis simply means north). Their diet consists of legumes, acorns, leaves, and even poison ivy!  Deer can be hunted by a number of predators, some bigger some smaller. The deer's number one predator is humans. Humans kill many deer through sport hunting, game hunting (for food), and car crashes. In New Jersey, deer are constantly seen dead on the side of the road or even seen casually crossing the street – or even highway – without a care. Because of this, along with the texting epidemic we are currently going through, many deer are only seen by the driver once it's too late. For example, on my way to the airport, my mom was driving me and, out of nowhere, two deer sprinted half way across the parkway and then stopped right in front of our car. Luckily I saw them and yelled out “deer”, because my mom was so focused on the road that she did not see them run over. However the deer does have other known predators like wolves and bears.

      

 

 Deer in Florida are very similar to the New Jersey deer. Their subclass is seminolus, which relates to the seminoles, an indian tribe in Georgia and Florida. These deer are much smaller than those in New Jersey, only reaching about the size of a large dog and weighing about 125 lbs (buck).  They have similar living patterns, but have some native aspects them. For example, the deer in Florida also eat mangrove trees, and can be eaten by cougars and lynx. These prey and predators are all more common if not only in Florida and not in New Jersey. They are also known for running into the street and get killed by cars. Although these deers are in different subspecies and land areas, they are still very similar to each other.

For more information on the florida deer, click here

For more information on the northern, New Jersey deer, click here

As seen in pictures: Top = northern white tail deer (New Jersey)  Bottom = Florida white tail deer