True Key Deer on No Name Key in the Florida Keys.
Photo: Marc Averette

Key Deer
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Odocoileus Species: O. virginianus Subspecies: O. v. clavium
Trinomial name
Odocoileus virginianus clavium Barbour & G. M. Allen, 1922

The Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) is an endangered deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is a subspecies of the White-tailed Deer (O. virginianus). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2848 × 2136 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2848 × 2136 pixel, file size: 1. ... No Name Key is located in the Lower Keys. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 109 KB) Key deer (Odocoileus viginianus clavium) in red mangroves at the National Key Deer Refuge. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ... Genera About 15 in 4 subfamilies. ... Binomial name Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, 1780 Subspecies Odocoileus virginianus clavium Odocoileus virginianus leucurus Odocoileus virginianus virginianus The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America far... Binomial name Zimmermann, 1780 The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru. ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... Thomas Barbour (1884 - 1946) was an American herpetologist. ... Glover Morrill Allen (8 February 1879 – 14 February 1942) was a U.S. zoologist. ... Adapted from Wikipedias FL county maps by Seth Ilys. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... This article is about the ruminant animal. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. ... Binomial name Zimmermann, 1780 The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru. ...

Physical description and behavior

This deer can be recognized by its characteristic size, smaller than all other White-tailed Deer. Adult males (known as bucks) usually weigh from 25 to 34 kg (55 to 75 pounds) and stand about 76 cm (30 inches) tall at the shoulder. Adult females (does) usually weigh between 20 to 29 kg (45 and 65 pounds) and have an average height of 66 cm (26 inches) at the shoulders. The deer is a reddish-brown to grey-brown in color. Antlers are grown by males and shed between February and March and regrown by June. The species otherwise generally resembles other white-tailed deer in appearance. Buck may refer to any of the following: Look up Buck in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Poet Laureate of Milwaukee, see Antler (Poet). ...

Key Deer easily swim between islands.

Living in close proximity to humans, the Key Deer has little of the natural fear of man shown by most of their larger mainland cousins. The deer are often found in resident's yards and along roadsides where tasty plants and flowers grow. This often results in car-deer collisions, as the deer are more active (and harder to avoid) at night. It is not unusual to see them at dusk and dawn, especially on lightly-inhabited No Name Key, and in the less-populated northern areas of Big Pine Key. Some are so tame that they will accept food directly from humans, but feeding deer is prohibited by law. No Name Key is located in the Lower Keys. ... Big Pine Key is a census-designated place and town located in island of the same name in the Florida Keys. ...

Reproduction

Mating may occur at any time of the year but usually peaks during mating season (rut) from September to November. Key Deer have a relatively low reproductive rate, averaging 1.08 young (fawns) per adult doe per year. Estrus (also spelled œstrus) or heat in female mammals is the period of greatest female sexual responsiveness usually coinciding with ovulation. ...

Range, habitat, and diet

The range of the Key Deer originally encompassed all of the lower Florida Keys (where standing water pools exist), but is now limited to a stretch of the Florida Keys from about Sugarloaf Key to Bahia Honda Key. Sugarloaf Key is one of the larger islands in the lower Florida Keys, from mile markers 20 to 17. ... Beach at Bahia Honda, Florida Keys, looking east Bahia Honda (meaning deep bay, in Spanish), is an island in the lower Florida Keys. ...

The islands of Big Pine, Cudjoe, West Summerland, Big Torch, Howe, Little Pine, Little Torch, Middle Torch, No Name, and Sugarloaf are the only places where the deer permanently reside. The deer also can be found on the islands of Annette, Big Munson, Little Munson, Johnson, Knockemdown, Mayo, Porpoise, Ramrod, Toptree Hammock, Wahoo, Water Key (east) and Water Keys (west), but they are only present there in the dry season where there is a lack of a fresh water. Big Pine Key is a census-designated place and town located in island of the same name in the Florida Keys. ... Cudjoe Key is a census-designated place and town located in Monroe County, Florida, on an island of the same name in the Florida Keys. ... West Summerland Key is part of the lower Florida Keys. ... Knockemdown Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys approximately 20 miles east of Key West. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Key Deer use all islands during the wet season when drinking water is more generally available, retreating to islands with a perennial supply of fresh water in dry months. A wet season or rainy season is a season in which the average rainfall in a region is significantly increased. ...

Key Deer inhabit nearly all habitats within their range, including pine rocklands, hardwood hammocks, mangroves, and freshwater wetlands. The species feed on over 150 types of plants, but mangroves (red, white, and black) and thatch palm berries make up the most important part of their diet. Pine rockland habitat is important as well because it often offers the only reliable source of fresh drinking water (key deer can tolerate drinking only mildly brackish water). Habitat destruction due to human encroachment causes many deer to now feed on non-native ornamental plants. Habitat (which is Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species live and grow. ... The pine rocklands were South Floridas dominant plant community, occupying about 186,000 acres (753 km²) in the Miami Rockridge, a large limestone outcrop that extends south from the Miami River to the Everglades National Park. ... Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal. ... The name Thatch palm is applied to several different species of palm trees in the genera Coccothrinax, Howea and Thrinax. ... This article is about the fruit. ... Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water. ... Habitat destruction is a process of land use change in which one habitat-type is removed and replaced with some other habitat-type. ...

History

A juvenile Key Deer is called a fawn.

It is believed that Key is a subspecies of White-tailed Deer which migrated to the Florida Keys from the mainland over a land bridge during the Wisconsin glaciation. The earliest known written reference to Key Deer comes from the writings of Hernando d'Escalante Fontaneda, a Spanish sailor shipwrecked in the Florida Keys and captured by Native Americans in the 1550s. Image File history File links http://nationalkeydeer. ... Image File history File links http://nationalkeydeer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Wisconsin (in North America), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland), Würm (in the Alps), and Weichsel (in northern central Europe) glaciations are the most recent glaciations of the Pleistocene epoch, which ended around 10,000 BCE. The general glacial advance began about 70,000 BCE, and... Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda(ca. ... For other uses, see Shipwreck (disambiguation). ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ...

Endangered status

Deer were hunted as a food supply by native tribes, passing sailors, and early settlers. The hunting of Key Deer was banned in 1939, but widespread poaching and habitat destruction caused the subspecies to plummet to near-extinction by the 1950s. The National Key Deer Refuge, a federally administered National Wildlife Refuge operated by the Wildlife Service, was established in 1957. For other uses, see Poaching (disambiguation). ... Habitat destruction is a process of land use change in which one habitat-type is removed and replaced with some other habitat-type. ... The National Key Deer Refuge is a 8,542 acre National Wildlife Refuge located on Big Pine Key and No Name Key in the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida. ... National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. ...

Recent population estimates put the population between 300 and 800, putting it on the list of endangered species. Road kills from drivers on U.S. Route 1, which traverses the deer's small range, are also a major threat, averaging between 30 and 40 kills per year, 70% of the annual mortality. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 (also called U.S. Highway 1, and abbreviated US 1) is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ...

However, the population has made an encouraging rise since 1955, when population estimates ranged as low as 25, and appears to have stabilized in recent years. Still, recent human encroachment into the fragile habitat and the deer's relatively low rate of reproduction point to an uncertain future for the species.

Conservation efforts

Conservation efforts include the establishment of the National Key Deer Refuge, which consists of approximately 8,500 acres (34 km²) on Big Pine, No Name Key and several smaller uninhabited islands. Not all of the Refuge lands are protected as public lands; despite extensive efforts of the Refuge to purchase these private habitat lands for protection in the Refuge, about 5,000 acres (20 km²) currently remain in private ownership and can potentially be developed. About 1,000 acres (4 km²) of this privately developable land is on Big Pine Key and No Name Key, which is the central population area for the deer. In 2006, a Habitat Conservation Plan was enacted by Monroe County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which will limit development in primary habitat and provide for additional habitat purchases over the next 15 years. At the end of this period, however, most of the 1,000 acres (4 km²) privately owned habitat land on Big Pine and No Name Keys will still be open for further development. Thus while the short term promises some cushion from extinction, the long term prospects for the deer remain in doubt. The refuge also provides rules for the control of feral dogs, which often attack the deer, and for the prohibition of feeding of the deer, which lowers their resistance to natural cycles; however, historically, due to local political pressures, these rules have been poorly enforced. A portion of U.S. Route 1 was also elevated in 2003 to allow the deer to pass safely beneath the roadway, in an attempt to lessen the chance of road kills. However, no decrease in total traffic deaths has been seen. Biologists have recently begun relocating some Key Deer from Big Pine Key to other islands, since Big Pine Key's population has reached its sustainable limit.

[Authorities: Habitat Conservation Plan, 2006; FWS Biological Opinion on NFIP, August 2006]

References

• Deer Specialist Group (1996). Odocoileus virginianus ssp. clavium. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN D v2.3)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Key deer

• National Fish and Wildlife Service species account
• National Key Deer Refuge site
• Key Deer Research Project
• Key Deer Information
• Key Deer at floridaconservation.org