What do you picture when you think of deer? The iconic whitetail is likely what comes to mind for most of us, but there are several other deer species found in the wild lands of North America. There are even nearly 40 subspecies of whitetails, and probably my favorite is the smallest: the Key deer of Florida (Odocoileus virginianus clavium).
Endemic to the Florida Keys, these unique creatures are almost identical to their mainland cousins save for the fact that they are significantly smaller. Key deer clock in around 60-80 pounds at maturity for does and bucks respectively, so picture your golden retriever or yellow lab running around with antlers on its head! Adult Key deer stand around 2 feet tall at the shoulder, and fawns weigh 2-4 pounds at birth, about half the size of a mainland whitetail fawn. The majority of these undersized ungulates call Big Pine Key home but are often seen swimming to a few other nearby islands of South Florida. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains an interactive map of the Key deer’s range.
Salty Whitetails
When it comes to biology and behavior, Key deer don’t much differ from your “typical” whitetail other than their island tameness, or lack of natural fear of humans, and their diet of primarily mangroves, palm fruit and ornamental plants. Due to development, most Key deer live close to the island’s human residents. This ultimately results in increased human interaction and an alarmingly high rate of deer-vehicle collisions, accounting for roughly 70% of their annual mortality.
It is believed that Key deer migrated to their current abode during the Wisconsin Glaciation when sea levels were lower than today, but the first written records date back to the 1550s in the journal of a Spanish shipwreck survivor. Historically, Key deer were widely hunted as a source of food by native tribes, sailors, and early settlers. Human interaction, habitat destruction and poaching led to a rapid decline in numbers, and they were nearly driven to extinction in the 1950s. Only around 25 to 50 deer remained. Biologists knew something needed to be done to prevent the loss of such a unique creature, thus hunting was banned, and the 8,500-acre National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957.
Despite Key deer being federally classified as an endangered species in 1967, the refuge has been instrumental in their protection along with the 20 other threatened and endangered plant and animal species that call the refuge home. Extensive measures have been taken over the years to protect the limited population of about 800 individuals resulting in numbers slowly increasing to where they currently remain stable according to estimates by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Recent Threats
Key deer have faced a variety of hardships recently, including a 2016 screwworm infestation that killed 135 deer, which is extremely detrimental considering the minimal number of deer on the landscape. Just a year later in 2017, Hurricane Irma posed another serious threat to their survival as habitat and freshwater resources were significantly damaged or lost. Human encroachment and interference remains one of the biggest threats to these magnificent mammals.
A Key deer gets a dose of anti-parasitic topical medication as it feeds at National Key Deer Refuge in Florida after an outbreak of screwworm in 2017. Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
In 2022, a 77-year-old woman was charged with violating the Endangered Species Act when she came upon a Key deer buck lying on the ground with its antlers entangled in rope. Despite having no veterinary training or any experience in wildlife biology, she decided it was in the deer’s best interest to shoot and kill it with a handgun rather than letting wildlife officers, who were on their way, manage the situation.
Last year, another resident videotaped himself luring multiple Key deer into his home with the intent of feeding the animals and posted the video online. He was subsequently arrested and charged. The USFWS discourages the feeding of Key deer as it results in unhealthy feeding habits and increased deer-vehicle collisions. We all love to view and interact with wildlife, but it is important to follow all regulations and laws put forth by state and federal wildlife agencies as the vast majority of these rules are rooted in scientific research and have the animals best interest in mind.
Another long-term threat is sea level rise. Sea level at Key West has been trending steadily upward since 1910. Based on this and more recent data, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects a minimum sea level rise of 1.5 feet at Key West over the next 75 years. The maximum projection is around 7 feet. Any rise further reduces the Key deer’s available habitat and crowds them closer into developed landscapes.
The Future for Key Deer
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Key deer. As a result of extensive conservation efforts, Key deer populations remain stable for now. These efforts include the development of the National Key Deer Refuge, elevated highway overpasses, and the Big Pine Key Habitat Conservation Plan, which uses prescribed fire to enhance habitat quality in the deer’s limited natural areas. In August 2019 the USFWS recommended that the Key deer be delisted as an endangered species due to recovery, but they ultimately remain listed as the population continues to recover and conditions in which delisting or downlisting can be determined.
The National Deer Association advocates for all deer species, and it is our pleasure to fight for wild deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. I have always been fascinated by deer, and I hope that by sharing a few of my favorite species and subspecies with you I am able to give you a glimpse of the deer world beyond whitetails.