Fauna Flora Photography

White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

The White-tailed Deer is the most widely distributed deer in the Americas, and is also the only deer commonly found on Montreal Island and the surrounding areas. They can easily move between locations on different sides of the river surrounding Montreal Island, although I have never observed them swimming.

Taxonomy

Mammalia > Artiodactyla > Cervidae > Capreolinae

Names in different Languages

GermanWeisswedelhirsch
EnglishWhite-tailed Deer
FrenchChevreuil, Chevreuil de Virginie, Cariacou, Cerf de Virginie
SpanishVenado de cola blanca, Ciervo de cola blanca, Ciervo de Virginia, Venado de Virginia, Venado gris

How to Identify

If you spot a deer on Montreal Island it is most probably a white-tailed deer. Characteristic is their white tail displayed when running away.

Where When to Spot

Although common, I saw white-tailed deer only in the remote parks such as Park Pointe-aux-trembles, Ile Bizard and surprisingly in Park Michel Chartrand which is completely surrounded by the city Longueil. This deer is around all year long. Strangely, I never saw a male White-tailed deer.

SpringSummerFallWinter
Parc Michel-Chartrand 0 1 0 0
Parc Nature Pointe aux Prairies 4 0 0 2
Parc de la Frayère 2 0 0 0
Parc Île Bizard 0 1 0 0
Parc Îles-de-Boucherville 0 1 0 0
  6 3 0 2

Number of times a species has been observed, identified, and recorded. A species is reported only once per visit to a park.

Photos of White-tailed Deer

Videos of White-tailed Deer

You can watch these videos and many more on Muuuh's YouTube Channel.

References

Last updated on 2023-07-04. Written and regularly updated by Karl-Heinz Müller, Dipl. Natw. ETH, Biology. With 10 years of experience in wildlife photography, Karl-Heinz shares first-hand, on-site collected observations, photos and videos from his frequent visits to parks in the Montreal area.