TheHunter/Animals

Currently there are 3 types of animals in the game. Two species of deer and common turkey. The two deer species are Mule and Whitetail. You will find both male and female animals of all types. Generally (and for most missions) you want to hunt the males.

Whitetail Deer
The most pursed game animal in North America, the Whitetail Deer has always fascinated both hunters and non hunters alike. Today, the whitetail, is the most widespread deer in the world. Scientists recognize 30 whitetail subspecies in North and Central America, and another 8 in South America. North America's whitetail population is estimated at 20-25 million animals. The whitetail is by far the most popular game in the U.S., chased by some 11 million hunters each fall.

Deer on the norm inhabit a relatively small home range, until bad weather conditions force them to move elsewhere. The reason deer in northern states have larger home ranges, since the winters are often long and nasty. Some northern deer travel sixty miles or more to suitable winter ranger. Weather is not the only factor that impacts on a herd's home range.

The lifespan of a whitetail is eleven to twelve years. Most deer never live that long; they are hit by cars, die of disease, killed by predators or shot by hunters. In heavily hunted areas, many bucks live only a few years, if that. Deer grow to about six feet long and about three feet high. They are reddish or grayish in color, depending on their habitat and the time of year. The weight of whitetails varies, from 100 to more than 300 pounds.→

Mule Deer
The Mule Deer, while closely related to the eastern white-tailed deer, are distinct in their life and living process, ecological, and behavioral characteristics.

Mule Deer are usually a dark gray-brown, with a small white rump patch and a small, black-tipped tail. Their large ears are distinctive. White-tail deer are tan in color, with a larger tail.

Mule Deer antlers are smaller and branch to form 2 equal forks, while the male White-tailed Deer has forward curving antlers with a number of points (tines) branching from the main beam.

Mule Deer have huge ears, from where they get their name, They do not run like other deer, but have a distinctive bounding leap over distances up to 8 yards, with all 4 feet coming down together. In this fashion, they can reach a speed of 45 m.p.h. for short periods.

Males are larger than females. The bucks' antlers, which start growth in spring and are shed around December each year, are high and branch forward, forking equally into 2 tines with a spread up to 4 feet.

The Mule Deer is slower and less colorful than the White-tailed Deer, but its color adapts well in desert environment which disguises it from predators like the Cougar, the Coyote and the eagle who will swoop down on a fawn.

Mule Deer have no canine teeth and like cows, have a multipart stomach, the first two chambers of which act as temporary storage bins. Food stored here can be digested later when the deer chews its cud.

Wild Turkey
There are only two species of turkey in the world the North American wild turkey, which is divided into five distinct subspecies Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, Merriam's and Gould's, and the ocellated turkey, which is found only in Central America.

Eastern Wild Turkey
Found in forests from New England and southern Canada and northern Florida in the east to Texas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota in the west. It has also been successfully transplanted in states outside of its original range, including California, Oregon and Washington. The eastern wild turkey ranges the farthest north, and individuals can grow to be among the largest of any of the subspecies. The adult male, commonly referred to as a gobbler or tom, may measure up to 4 feet tall at maturity and weigh more than 20 pounds. Its upper tail coverts, which cover the base of the long tail feathers, are tipped with chestnut brown and its tail feathers are tipped with dark buff or chocolate brown. In contrast, its breast feathers are tipped in black. Rich, metallic and copper/bronze iridescence characterize other body feathers.

Osceola
Smaller and darker in color with less white in the wing. The white bars in these feathers are broken and do not extend all the way to the feather shaft. The black bars dominate the feather. Secondary wing feathers are also dark. When the wings are folded on the back, there are no whitish triangular patches as seen on the eastern.

Florida turkey show more lustrous rainbowlike green and red colors, with less bronze than the eastern. The dark color of the tail coverts and the large tail feathers tipped in brown are similar to the eastern, but unlike the lighter colors of the three western subspecies. Its colorations and behavior are ideal for the flat pine woods, oak and palmetto hammocks and swamp habitats of Florida. Adult females, or hens, are similar to the males but duller and lighter colored throughout, except wing feathers, which are darker.

Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is considered gregarious and, nomadic in some areas, having distinct summer and winter ranges. They may form large flocks of several hundred birds during the winter period. It has been known to travel distances of 10 or more miles from traditional winter roost sites to its nesting areas.

Merriam's
Found mostly in western mountain regions of the United States similar to the other species.

Goulds
Largest of the 5 subspecies and resembles the Merriam's turkey.

Ocellated
The ocellated turkey exists only in a 50,000 square mile area comprised of the Yucatan Peninsula