KTHS Photo  - Female deer, looking for some extra nourishment during deep snow cover,
come up to an area that had accumulated ground corn and sunflower seeds thrown out to birds and squirrels by residents. According to Google, Deer are herbivores. They eat grass, leaves, stems, shoots, berries, herbs, acorns, mushrooms, wild fruit and agriculture crops like corn and soy beans.

Deer are ruminants (cud chewers) and have a four-chambered stomach. Other ruminants include cattle, goats and antelope. Deer start eating in the morning. They hardly chew their food which goes into the first stomach. While they rest, the food will move to the second stomach and form little balls. Now the food is brought back to the mouth and chewed. This chewed food goes into the third and fourth stomachs.

In the winter months, when less food is available, deer will become less active. By slowing down, they can get by eating only about one third of the food they normally eat. They will also hang out in the woods more to escape the cold winds.

Deer are born with four baby teeth and develop baby incisors and premolars in their first months. Their adult teeth come in and replace the baby teeth when they are about 18 months old. You can guess the age of deer by looking at the type of teeth they have and by how worn these teeth are. Each year, molars loose about one millimeter of height.

Deer are members of the order Artiodactyle, which means that they have hoofs with an even number of toes.

Deer can be found around the world. They are native to all continents except for Australia and Antarctica. There are about 100 types of deer, including the whitetail deer, reindeer, elk, moose, mule deer, blacktail deer and caribou.

Male deer are called bucks, bulls, stags or harts. Female deer are called does, cows or hinds. Young deer are called fawns or calfs.

Deer can adapt well to just about any habitat. They prefer to live in "edge" habitats. Edges are human-made or natural habitat breaks, for instance from woods to croplands. They will use the woodlands for cover and shelter and the open land to graze in. In northern latitudes, deer may live in different areas in the summer and winter months. These areas can be as far as 30 miles apart. The life expectancy of deer is 20 years.