White-tailed deer are the most common member of the deer family and are also known as "Virginia deer". The first part of the name comes from its most distinctive feature, the 6-11 inch long white tail or “flag”. A white-tailed deer averages about 42 inches tall, this deer ranges from 100 to 300 pounds in weight. The color of the deer's upper body and flanks changes with the season, from a normal reddish-brown in summer to a grayish color in winter. The belly and underside of the tail are completely white along with a white patch on the throat. White-tailed deer shed their fur twice a year, going from a heavier coat in the winter to a thinner one in the spring. A fawn's coat is very similar, except it has many white spots all over until about 4 months of age. Fawns are born in late spring or early summer. White-tailed deer live in wooded areas. Gray wolves and mountain lions were predators of white-tailed deer. So some areas become overpopulated. People and dogs are the main predators of deer today. Because there are not many natural predators, deer populations can sometimes outgrow their environment and deer can starve. In rural areas, hunters help control deer populations, but in suburban and urban areas hunting is often not permitted and deer populations can grow out of control. Diseases and parasites such as lice, mites and roundworms can weaken or kill deer. Young and old deer often get sick and die, especially in winter. This specific deer is a herbivore or plant eater. It feeds in the early morning and late afternoon. This deer's diet changes depending on its habitat and the season. It feeds on green plants in spring and summer. In the fall it eats corn, acorns and more... middle of the paper... white-tailed deer comes from one of seven glands. Three of these glands are found on the legs. The interdigital glands are found between the hooves of all four feet. The metatarsal glands are found on the outside of the hind legs and the tarsal glands are found on the inside of the hind legs. The tarsal gland is perhaps the most important of the glands present on the leg. This gland consists of a patch of elongated hair topped by an area of ​​large sebaceous glands. The sebaceous glands secrete a fatty lipid that adheres to the hairs of the tarsal gland. This area has a strong musky odor. This odor is the result of urine deposited on these glands and mixed with lipids during a behavior known as chafing. During rub micturition, a deer rubs the two tarsal glands together as it urinates on them. All deer engage in this rubbing behavior year-round.