Florida is home to one species of native deer, the white-tailed deer, but it comes in three distinct subspecies adapted to very different parts of the state. The most familiar is the mainland white-tailed deer found across forests and flatwoods statewide. The most unusual is the Key deer, a miniature, endangered subspecies confined to a handful of islands in the lower Florida Keys.
Three Subspecies, One Species
Of the 30 white-tailed deer subspecies found across the Americas, three live in Florida. All belong to the same species, Odocoileus virginianus, but they differ in size, range, and habitat preference. The three are the Virginia white-tailed deer (O. v. virginianus), which ranges into northern Florida from the southeastern U.S.; the Florida coastal white-tailed deer (O. v. osceola), found across the peninsula; and the Key deer (O. v. clavium), restricted to the Florida Keys.
For most people living in or visiting Florida, the deer they encounter in suburbs, state parks, and rural areas is the Florida coastal subspecies. It thrives in a wide range of habitats, from pine sandhills and bottomland hardwood forests to coastal marshes and even the sawgrass prairies of the Everglades.
Mainland White-Tailed Deer
The Florida coastal white-tailed deer is the most widespread deer in the state. It looks much like the white-tailed deer found elsewhere in the eastern United States: tan or reddish-brown in summer, grayish-brown in winter, with the signature white underside of the tail that flashes when the animal runs. Males grow and shed antlers annually.
Some of the highest deer densities in Florida occur in sand pine sandhills, but these deer are adaptable. Along the Atlantic coast, they use longleaf and slash pine forests, coastal marshes, and bottomland hardwoods. In the Everglades, researchers have documented deer moving into recently burned sawgrass stands two to three months after prescribed fires, drawn by the fresh shoots that sprout from burned ground. This flexibility is a big part of why white-tailed deer remain common across nearly every county in Florida, from the Panhandle down through the central peninsula.
The Key Deer
The Key deer is Florida’s most distinctive deer and one of its most endangered mammals. Standing just 25 to 30 inches tall at the shoulder, it is noticeably smaller than its mainland relatives. Males average about 79 pounds and females about 64 pounds. Their skulls are proportionally broader than mainland deer, a diagnostic trait biologists use to distinguish them. While there is slight overlap in body size between the smallest mainland deer and the largest Key deer, most Key deer are obviously smaller.
Key deer live on just 17 islands in the lower Florida Keys, a total range of roughly 38 square miles. Big Pine Key and No Name Key hold the largest populations. The critical factor determining which islands can support deer is permanent fresh water. Islands without it are not used consistently, no matter how much vegetation they offer.
On the islands where they do live, Key deer strongly prefer upland areas, particularly rock pinelands and hardwood hammocks that sit more than about three feet above sea level. They avoid the low-lying mangrove swamps and scrub that dominate many Keys shorelines. These upland zones provide both food and access to the freshwater lenses that form beneath the limestone.
Conservation Status
Key deer were first listed as endangered in 1967, making them one of the earliest species protected under federal endangered species law. They continue to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. Road collisions, habitat loss from development, and rising sea levels that threaten their freshwater supply remain ongoing concerns. The National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key was established specifically to protect their habitat.
Where You’ll Find Deer Across Florida
In northern Florida and the Panhandle, deer habitat looks similar to the rest of the southeastern U.S.: mixed pine-hardwood forests, oak hammocks, and river bottomlands. Bottomland hardwood forests are among the most productive deer habitats in the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain, offering abundant browse and mast crops like acorns.
Central Florida’s deer occupy a mix of flatwoods, scrub, and agricultural edges. In southern Florida, the landscape shifts to marshes, prairies, and tropical hardwood hammocks, and deer adapt accordingly. The Everglades supports a notable deer population that responds strongly to fire cycles, moving into burned areas to feed on regrowth.
If you’re in the Florida Keys, any deer you see is a Key deer, and it’s protected. Feeding them is illegal, and speed limits on Key deer habitat roads are strictly enforced.
Chronic Wasting Disease in Florida
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological illness that affects deer, has been detected in Florida. As of 2025, Holmes County in the Panhandle has confirmed cases in free-ranging deer, making Florida one of 36 states with documented CWD. The disease spreads through proteins called prions and is always fatal in deer. It does not currently affect humans, but wildlife agencies monitor it closely because it can decimate local deer populations. Hunters in affected zones may be asked to submit harvested deer for testing.