and just some variations. Obviously not a comprehensive list, only a few examples of how it can present in deer across species. Some of these sources contain images of dead animals (labeled DA) or outdated language for intersex conditions (OL)! Please keep that in mind before clicking the links.
First up, antlered does:
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
So put incredibly simply, all cervids (except for water deer) are capable of antler growth, as the stem cells that generate them are present even in females. However, in those cervids (except reindeer/caribou), those cells only activate with heightened testosterone. Usually only males can produce enough, but rarely, so can a female. Their antlers tend to be spindly and narrow, if they grow larger than spikes, and remain covered in velvet year-round. They rarely, if ever drop them, unlike their male counterparts, which regrow their antlers annually.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
This is most commonly documented in members of the Odocoileus genus, such as these whitetails, and in the Capreolus genus, namely western roe deer. Like the doe above, these deer are typically capable of reproducing, and often behave like other females of their species, i.e. staying in female-only herds. Their heightened testosterone can be linked to hormonal imbalances, malformed or underdeveloped reproductive organs, or tumors/cysts on their ovaries. The latter occurs most often in older individuals, and has also been documented in elk, red deer, and moose (like this cow, which was spotted with a calf near Nome, Alaska).
Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas)
High testosterone has even been documented in the aforementioned water deer, causing does to grow elongated fangs (DA, OL). These does, like females of other species with permanent velvet antlers, were still capable of producing offspring. While they were expected to exceed the standard weight for does, they were actually smaller.
However, not all antlered does can reproduce, and not all have permanent velvet. In extremely rare cases, their antlers can harden and shed. This leads to the next set of conditions, which unfortunately I don't have pictures for: visibly intersex animals, externally, internally, or both.
A vast majority of visibly intersex deer are discovered via hunting; therefore, intersex whitetails and roe deer (DA) are (still) the best studied. These deer can have any combination of sex organs, such as an individual with a vulva, cervix, testes, and more (DA, OL). Their antlers can be velvet or hardened, though they're often malformed. They may exhibit behaviors of both sexes, including breeding behaviors; while I couldn't find much regarding their reproductive ability, most are likely infertile. There's still a lot to study regarding these guys, especially in poorly-researched species like muntjacs, brockets, and hog deer.
Finally, the most common form of intersex in deer: cryptorchidism. This is a condition where one or both testicles don't descend properly, or are otherwise malformed. It causes male deer to grow wonky antlers, referred to as "cactus antlers," "Devil's antlers," and, for moose, velericorn antlers (also used for antlered cow moose). They shed them at odd times, and, like for this individual, they might even crumble away rather than pop off cleanly.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (OL)
These deer may have little interest in mating, scraping, self-urinating or other breeding behaviors due to a lack of testosterone, or even prefer the company of females year-round. They may look more feminine, like this elk found in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which I believe to be a bull with cryptorchidism or another hormonal imbalance.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Like many animals, including humans, deer have so much variation in appearance, behavior, and yes, sexual characteristics. Even with strong dimorphism, biology is never binary.
My friends are having a fun little series of polls, pitting different animals against one another, and my suggestion (the whitetail deer) is coming up soon. Do you have any fun whitetail deer facts that may sway the voters?
Whitetails are the oldest modern deer species, first appearing in the fossil record 2-5 million years ago
They have a stronger sense of smell than most dogs, with over 290 million scent receptors vs. ~220 million
They're arguably the most adaptable deer in the Americas, ranging all the way from northern Yukon, Canada to northern Bolivia
The largest subspecies, the Northern whitetail (O. v. borealis) can reach up to 310 lbs (140 kg), while the smallest subspecies, the Key deer (O. v. clavium) reaches a max of about 75 lbs (34 kg). (Key deer are also the smallest North American deer. This earned them the nickname toy deer!)
They come in a wide variety of color morphs, including leucistic, piebald, albino, and melanistic. I've personally even seen a buck that looked "blond" or "buckskin" -- likely a form of leucism
They're the only deer caught on camera eating human bones (might wanna leave this one out though)
Reynard statue and sign in Hulst; on account of Van den vos Reynaerde (the popular Dutch version of the Reynard tales) being set in the small town, the story and it's titular fox are quite popular there. The statue was designed by Anton Damen and was unveiled on September 12, 1938; it's occasionally decorated for holidays, and was provided with balloons and cake for its 80s "birthday" (September 12th, 2018.) [read more]
This antlered doe hangs out around the ranger station on East Alameda near Lake Thunderbird. Her antlers never mature beyond the velvet stage. She’s usually not hard to find. I first photographed her in 2009.
Surviving props and puppets from Ladislas Starewitch's Le Roman de Renard (as seen at the "Metamorfosis" art exhibition at CCCB in September 2016.)
(I've been wondering about the current whereabouts of these puppets for years now, so happy I stumbled across this. I don't think I've seen that poster anywhere else either.)
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