The Columbian white-tailed deer is the smallest cervid in Oregon. The most distinguishing feature is the long, wide tail that can easily be seen, especially when raised when startled.

The tail is brown dorsally with a white fringe, and white ventrally. In males, antlers with tines typically arise from a single main beam. In winter, the pelage is a dark buffy-gray and consists of relatively long, thick, and somewhat brittle hairs; in summer, the pelage is lighter with more tawny tones and is shorter and thinner. The midline of the dorsum is darker and the fade lighter; in males, the patch between the antlers is darker. Pelage markings include white on the venter, throat, muzzle and lower lip, and around the openings of the metatarsal and interdigital glands; a black spot on the lower lip; and a grayish-white eye ring.

White-tailed deer, when flushed, travel by graceful strides interspersed with leaps. During flight, the tail is held erect and wagged gracefully from side to side. In general, white-tailed deer tend to be active crepuscularly, but activity is affected by humidity, barometric pressure, human disturbance and other environmental variables. White-tail deer tend to be gregarious, with groupings usually being matriarchal or fraternal.

White-tailed deer in western Oregon occur as remnant populations in bottomlands in Clatsop and Columbia counties near Westport; on Tenasillahe Island, Clatsop County, on Wallace island, Columbia County, and along the Umpqua River in Douglas County. 

The Douglas County population of Columbian white-tailed deer were removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 2003. The Columbia white-tailed deer is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley ecoregions.

Check our Living with Wildlife, Deer and Elk for tips on living with deer. Columbian white-tailed deer are susceptible to Deer Hair Loss Syndrome and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. 

Photo by Don Whitaker, ODFW