Threatened species of Odocoileus virginianus

Domestic and feral dogs cause severe mortality in whitetail populations. Fawns and pregnant does are the most vulnerable to dog attacks, especially during the winter when snow is deep or crusty. Tens of thousands of whitetails are killed annually by vehicles. Deer are also vulnerable to viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases, as well as parasites. As Whitetails inflict serious damage on commercial and private crops, as well as on tree seedlings planted for regeneration projects, whitetails can be subject to control. Deer can entirely destroy or inhibit the regeneration of some tree species through overbrowsing.

There are 38 subspecies of white-tailed deer in north, central, and south America. Sixteen of these are found in the United States and Canada. The white-tailed deer (whitetail) ranges from coast to coast across North America. However, it is not found along the southwestern coast of the United States or the coast of British Columbia. A small portion possibly extends north into the southern Northwest Territories. The whitetail has been introduced in the Virgin Islands and other parts of the Caribbean. Whitetails are extremely adaptable animals, inhabiting a variety of plant communities from tropical jungles to hot, dry deserts, to subarctic climates.

Odocoileus virginianus leucurus and O. v. clavium are listed as "Endangered" by the USA federal government. Odocoileus virginianus hiltonensis, O. v. nigribarbis, O. v. taurinsulae and O. v. venatoria are federally listed as "Category 2 subspecies". O. v. leucurus is "Endangered" in Washington and Oregon, and O. v. clavium is "Endangered" in Florida.