Odocoileus Virginianus Leucurus is the scientific name for the Columbian White-tailed Deer. Before it was officially named, David Douglas in 1829 described this new species of white-tailed deer on two specimens he collected in Oregon. Its size is between approximately four and a half and six and a half feet in length. The two biggest differences in the appearance of the Columbian White-tailed Deer are the antlers and facial characteristics, and the rump patches and dorsal tail surface. These deer, that were once very much endangered, were distributed along the Columbian River from the present location of the Dalles, Oregon to Astoria, on the coast.
Today there are only two white-tailed populations of any consequence.
One is located along the lower Columbia River. The other is known as the Roseburg herd in Douglas County, Oregon. The Columbian White-tailed deer live on approximately 5,200 acres of prime habitat in certain islands and bottom lands within a fifteen km. The deer are restricted to these flatlands. In 1972, seventeen percent of the area was classified as wooded.