An Instance of Fertility in a White-Tailed Buck Fawn

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns of both sexes have been reared by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department since 1953. Does frequently mature their first season but until 1963 did not reproduce because they were not penned with mature bucks. Sexual maturity in a buck fawn was recorded in 1963 when Doe 41 was bred on December 29, at the age of 214 days, by Buck 48. On the two hundred fifth day after mating she gave birth to a male fawn which was born dead. Buck 48 had bare, polished antler buttons by the first week in November; he displayed adult breeding behavior, reached maximum fall weight of 94 pounds on December 7 at the age of 180 days, and was 202 days old on the date of mating.