Save the Florida Key Deer: (Book Review)

The Book Save the Florida Key Deer is written by Margaret Goff Clark. The book's first edition published by the Cobblehill Books, New York in 1998. It is published in hard cover with colour photographs and contains a total of 38 pages.

Front cover of the book "Save the Florida Key Deer"

The Book discusses the history, physical characteristics, behaviour and habitat of the small deer that have lived for hundreds of years in the Florida Keys as well as threats to their continued existence.

The seven chapters are as:

Chapter 1: Meet the Key Deer

In the opening paragraphs the author gave her own personal account of first time watching the key deer small as the size of the collie dog crossing the highway.

Map: Home of the Florida Key Deer

There are laws against feeding the deer, but the Key deer have lost their natural fear of people, and often beg for food.

Chapter 2: A bit of History

The small Florida Key deer live mainly on Big Pine Key and various surrounding Keys, from Little Pine Key to Sugarloaf Key. They are not found anywhere else in the world. They are subspecies of the Virginia white-tailed deer. The scientific name for them is Odocoileus virginianus clavium.

An adult deer stands about 24 to 30 inches high at shoulder and weighs from 45 to 80 pounds. The upper part of body is light brown while its underside is white.

The Florida Key deer is endangered species under the 1967 Endangered Species Preservation Act. There are only about 250 to 300 left.

Chapter 3: The Key Deer Refuge

Florida's legislature banned Key Deer hunting in 1939, but the hunters saw no reason for their sport to be spoiled. Poachers were their worst enemy.

The Key Deer Refuge, covering more than 8000 acres, is part of the US National Wildlife Refuge System.

Chapter 4: A Key Deer's Life

Generally the bucks are solitary creatures and keep to themselves. Adult males often have a range of 300 acres while adult females range over approximately 130 acres. 

When bucks want the same doe, they face each other and fight while the doe watches. Sometimes they wound each other, but at times the weaker one gives up and walk away. This natural process ensures that the stronger deer will be the father of the fawns.

Chapter 5: Key Deer Fawns

The Doe walks in front of the fawn and raises her fluffy white tail like a flag as a signal when there is danger ahead. She also teaches it to hide when people or other animals come near. Unfortunately, they forget this when people feed them.

Chapter 6: Some Key Deer Troubles

Hunters alongwith with heavy rainstorms that were sometime so strong they drowned the deer. Also the fast moving cars are trouble for the deer crossing the highways.

Chapter 7: What about the Future?

The majority of Key Deer live on Big Pine Key and have resided there for thousand of years grewing healthy and strong on natural foods. They eat more than 160 different plants including grasses.

In 1996, as many as 104 Key deer were lost. Two-third of those that died were killed by cars.

How can the Key Deer be saved? The National Key Deer Refuge has helped, but more land is needed. There are severe restrictions on construction of new homes, schools and roads because the Key Deer is an endangered species but owners denied the right to build are unhappy.

The little deer are found nowhere else in the world. Florida's "toy" deer must not disappear.

Back cover of the book "Save the Florida Key deer".