The white-tailed deer is a marvel of biological design, making it one of the most successful and adaptable mammals in the world. The hooves, hair, and antlers on the animal have adapted and developed over millions of years into the structures we see today.

Tip 1: Antlers are NOT Horns.
While “Hooves, Hair, and Horns” would have been a catchier title for this column, it would have been biologically wrong. Antlers and horns are not the same thing, and the words cannot be used interchangeably. Antlers are bone, are shed every year after mating, and regrow the next year. Antlers are found on deer and related members of the cervidae family (like moose, elk, and caribou), and normally only adorn males. Horns are made of keratin, the same substance in human fingernails, and are attached permanently to the animal. Cattle, bison, and other members of the bovidae family sport horns, which are not shed and often appear on both males and females.

Tip 2: I Know–There Are Exceptions.
There have been rare cases of whitetail does sporting antlers, likely a result of unusual hormone levels in the animal. Every year, there are reports of a hunter who shoots an antlered deer and becomes highly confused to find no male reproductive organs. These deer will have small and often oddly formed antlers. There are exceptions in other animals as well. For instance, both male and female reindeer grow and shed antlers each year, and giraffes sport structures called ossicones on their heads—short bony structures covered with skin and fur which can cause brutal wounds when the males fight.

Tip 3: Hollow Hair?
Deer hair is often described as ‘hollow’ and provides excellent insulation as well as enables deer to be superb swimmers. The individual hairs are not hollow in the manner of a straw but rather have a microscopic structure of tiny cellular air pockets, something like honeycomb. During the winter, deer have a thick grey coat with long exterior guard hairs and a soft, wooly underfur that can protect the animal from even subzero conditions. In the summer, the winter coat is shed and replaced with a reddish-brown coat of shorter, wiry hair.

Tip 4: Hair Can Tell a Story.
A deer’s hair is not the same across its body, and archers in particular can use hair left on an arrow shaft or at the hit site to provide information about their shot. In general, back hair is often long, dark, coarse, and frequently has black tips. Belly hair is usually white, fine, long, and sometimes twisted. Side hair is normally short and brown with dark tips, and hair from the bottom of the rib cage is a mixture of white and dark brown and can be straight, thick, and moderately long.

Tip 5: Hooves Are Toes—Sort Of.
While deer have a natural grace that sometimes seems almost dainty, they are amazingly tough animals. Their slim legs add to this graceful image, ending in their jet-black hooves. Each hoof is made up of soft center pads on the bottom and a hard outside hoof wall made of keratin.The hooves are actually two toes, with two dewclaws positioned above the hooves. Most mammals, including humans, have five toes (or fingers) on each appendage. However, in deer the hooves are the center two toes (numbers 3 and 4) while the dewclaws are repositioned toes numbers 2 and 5. Toe number 1, which in humans would be the thumb or big toe, has been completely lost over millions of years of evolution.

Tip 6: Hooves Do More Than Walk.
Deer hooves are used as weapons against predators, to warn other deer about danger (stomping), and to dig up the ground to make scrapes―plus an interdigital gland between the toes can leave a chemical scent to communicate with other deer. If you’ve ever watched a deer moving through the woods with their head down on the ground like a dog, they are likely following a trail left by another deer’s interdigital gland.