A mature whitetail buck

The adult buck whitetail deer is the biggest native wild animal that most people will ever see in the wilds of southeast Missouri. There are a few wild animals that can be bigger such as the elk that has been reestablished in recent years in parts of Carter, Reynolds and Shannon counties, and the black bear.

The whitetail deer has been Missouri's most important game animal for several decades. This beautiful animal which was once over hunted to the point of being rarely seen in southeast Missouri, has become one of our most commonly seen wild animals.

The whitetail deer is now considered a "problem animal" because of overpopulation in many urban residential areas of the United States, including Cape Girardeau. Chronic wasting disease has become a threat to the whitetail deer herd nationwide over the past few decades.