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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''). It is the smallest North American deer. ==Description== This deer can be recognized by its characteristic size, smaller than all other white-tailed deer. Adult males (known as bucks) usually weigh and stand about tall at the shoulder. Adult females (does) usually weigh between and have an average height of 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. When the antlers are growing, they have a white velvet coating. The species otherwise generally resembles other white-tailed deer in appearance. ==Behavior== Key deer easily swim between islands. Living close to humans, the Key deer has little of the natural fear of man shown by most of their larger mainland relatives. The deer are often found in residents' yards and along roadsides where tasty plants and flowers grow. This often results in car-to-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. Breeding occurs all year, but peaks in October and December. Territorial activity is limited to defending a receptive doe from other bucks. Longevity records are 9 years for males and 7 years for females. Adult females form loose matriarchal groups with one or two generations of offspring, while bucks feed and bed together only during the nonbreeding season. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「key deer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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