Deer
Deer are specialized herbivores, as is reflected in their large and anatomically complex digestive organs, their mobile lips, and the size and complexity of their teeth. However, deer rely little on coarse-fibred grasses, and they have not evolved grazing specializations comparable to those found in bovids. Instead, they are highly selective feeders on young grasses, herbs, lichens, foliage, buds, aquatic plants, woody shoots, fruit, and natural ensilage—that is, plant food characterized by low fibre but high protein content, toxicity, and digestibility.
deer, (family Cervidae), any of 43 species of hoofed ruminants in the order Artiodactyla, notable for having two large and two small hooves on each foot and also for having antlers in the males of most species and in the females of one species.
The adult male deer is called a stag and may have antlers growing from its head. The female deer is called a doe and a young deer is called a fawn.
Deer, being adaptable creatures, are found in a variety of environments; however, they are best suited to forested habitats. Forests provide deer with a place to eat, to rest, to escape, to bear and rear young.
Deer reproduce sexually and there is internal fertilization. A deer's gestation period is 200 to 205 days, most of the fawns being born in the latter part of May or the first part of June. A doe giving birth for her first time will have a single fawn, thereafter she will have twins.
The white-tailed deer contains an endoskeleton, it is triploblastic; 3 germ layers, bilateral symmetry, a spine (notochord made of connective tissues), and a complete digestive track.
Moreover, deer are poly-ruminant, which means that they have multiple (four) sections to their stomach. Starting at the oesophagus (throat), the chambers are named: the rumen; the reticulum; the omasum; and the abomasum, which empties into the small intestine.
There are three important organs of the deer's circulatory system--the heart, lungs, and spleen. Whitetail Deer, like most mammals, have a four chamber heart which circulates blood through the circulatory system.
Sexual dimorphism is very pronounced; males appear to be larger and taller than average females in most species, and only males have antlers, excluding reindeer.
Elongated, a diminutive tail, strong legs, and long ears are features typical of deer. Deer show a large range in physical proportions. Deer Body Parts: The major deer body parts may include the head, legs and trunk.
There are three main ways a deer defends itself from predators: scent, hooves and antlers.
They have long legs, with strong muscles and ligaments, adaptations that help them sprint up to 30 mph through wooded terrain and jump 10 feet high and 30 feet wide in one bound.
