Carrying Capacity

If you're driving in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or dozens of other states, you would not be surprised to see a white-tailed deer. There are more than 5 million white-tailed deer just in Texas! White-tailed deer are very common and, sometimes, their populations grow too large.

White-tailed deer are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. They spend most days hidden in vegetation resting. At sunset, they start their food search. White-tailed deer are herbivores. They feed on leaves, twigs, stems, and grasses. Many deer often live in the same area, depending on how many the ecosystem can support. Male deer are known to mark the areas they travel by scraping trees and scent-marking (with their urine!).

Like most deer, male white-tailed deer have antlers. They shed and regrow them every year. The older a deer gets, the larger their antlers grow! Antlers are used to impress females, fight with other males, and defend themselves from predators. White-tailed deer have many predators, including wolves, mountain lions, bears, coyotes, and alligators.

Predators of white-tailed deer are important to have around. Without them, populations of white-tailed deer grow too large, even larger than the carrying capacity. When populations of white-tailed deer grow too large, they over-graze the ecosystem, meaning they eat so many plants that there is not enough to support all the herbivores. Because an animal's population cannot grow forever, the lack of food will cause the deer population to drop. We can protect entire ecosystems by protecting predator species like wolves and mountain lions.