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White-tailed deer doe looks over her shoulder: free photo courtesy of Nature of New England.
Official State Game Animal of Oklahoma
Oklahoma designated the graceful white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) as the official state game animal in 1990. Oklahoma has adopted three other mammal symbols; an official state animal in 1972, a furbearer animal in 1989, and a flying mammal in 2006.
Both Native Americans and settlers relied on the white-tailed deer for buckskin and food. Eleven other states have adopted the white-tailed deer as a state symbol (Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin). All State Mammals
An animal of incredible beauty and power, the white-tailed deer is able to run up to 40 miles per hour, jump 9 foot fences, and swim 13 miles per hour. The white underside of the deer's tail waves when running and is flashed as a warning when danger is sensed.
