O Virginianus Essay

The White Tailed Deer, otherwise known as the Odocoileus virginianus, is part of the Animalia kingdom, Chordata phylum, Mammalia class, Artiodactyla order, Cervidae family, and the Odocoileus genus. Odocoileus dervis from the greek noun odontis, which means tooth and from the Greek adjective koilos, which means hollow. Virginianus is a newer Latin term meaning “of Virginia,” which is used in taxonomy to indicate that a species is linked with Virginia and its surrounding areas. The O. virginianus is said to be one of the oldest large mammal species in North America. Fossils in Florida have been found dating back 3.5 million years. They evolved from a similar species called Odocoileus brachyodonuts who had dissimilar antlers and teeth. Today, O. virginianus is distributed through southern Canada, a majority of the United States, …show more content…
virginianus economic status is “least concern” and its population is “stable” (Odocoileus virginianus). This is largely due to its amazing ability to adapt to different habitats and environments. However, there have been issues with overpopulation, where parts of the population starve because of the lack of food. As a management tool, hunting is allowed to control the population of O. virgnianus. From the months of October to January hunting season is open and allows hunters to legally kill O. virginianus. Only five deer or three bucks can be taken per season, but it mainly depends on the area that the hunter is in and how big the deer is.Without hunting their population would likely explode, therefore disturbing the entire ecosystem as a whole. In fact, according to Purdue University hunting restrictions are becoming far more strict. This has caused development in different management schemes and conservation measures. Trapping and relocation, hormone regulation, and immunocontraception, which is basically the sterilization of the animal, have been proposed solutions to further control the O. virginianus population (Farlee