Deer also seek out mushrooms and wild fruits and will feed on man's agricultural crops, such as corn and soybeans, often causing considerable damage. A major fall and winter food is acorns. They were used extensively by Native Americans for both food and clothing and also by the early settlers. Extensive clearing of land, unregulated hunting, and loss of habitat brought the whitetail deer population to a record low by the late 1800's. Changing land uses, strict game laws, and a lack of natural large predators have caused the white-tailed deer population to rebound dramatically.
Whitetails are the number one game animal in the United States.
The Nature Center currently has 8 white-tailed deer. One of these is a mature buck. Only two of our deer are tame, the rest are semi-wild. The two tame does were hand-raised by individuals as pets, a practice that is illegal in North Carolina and is also dangerous. White-tailed deer, like many other wild animals in captivity, often become agresssive towards people when they become mature.