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.
| 🇫🇷 | Chevreuil, Chevreuil de Virginie, Cariacou, Cerf de Virginie |
| 🇩🇪 | Weisswedelhirsch |
| 🇲🇽 | Venado de cola blanca, Ciervo de cola blanca, Ciervo de Virginia, Venado de Virginia, Venado gris |
| Taxonomy | |
| Order | Artiodactyla |
| Family | Cervidae |
| Subfamily | Capreolinae |
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.
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Click on photo to enlarge.
Characteristics
| Length | 180-240cm |
| Weight | 41-136kg |
Videos
Videos are hosted on YouTube. Click on a thumbnail to watch it.
Where and 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 Longueuil. This deer is around all year long. Strangely, I never saw a male White-tailed deer.
Observation Records by Park and Season
| Location | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parc Michel-Chartrand | x | - | x | x |
| Parc Mont Saint-Bruno | - | x | - | - |
| Parc Nature Pointe aux Prairies | x | - | - | x |
| Parc de la Frayère | x | - | - | - |
"x" indicates the species was observed, while "-" indicates no observation. Lack of observation doesn't necessarily imply that the species is absent. Data is derived from our park visit journals.