The deer is the the most common large wild animal in America.   To Lewis and Clark, deer seemed as plentiful as birds.  The Corps of Discovery needed a lot of food for 45 people, and they had to kill a lot of animals for meat.   The party killed and ate many, many deer.  (Deer meat is called venison.)

In the Rocky Mountains, deer spend their summers high in the mountains, but when snow comes, they move down to the valleys where there is more food.

Deer eat all kinds of plants, mostly grass, flowers, and young leaves.  In winter, they eat twigs and anything else they can find.  Many deer living near towns have discovered people's gardens as a good place to dine! 

The deer family includes other animals such as elk, moose, and caribou.  In North America, "deer" usually means white-tailed deer or the mule deer such as those in these pictures.  Males are called bucks, the females are called does, and the babies are fawns.

The adult buck stands about 42 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs about 200 pounds.  The doe is smaller.  Bucks have antlers. The antlers fall off each winter, and they grow new ones each spring.  Does do not have antlers.