Hi! My friends call me "Eddie the Spotted." I am a Key Deer. I am currently protected by the fish and wildlife service. I am protected because I am an endangered species. My closest relation is the Virginia White Tailed Deer. I inhabit the Big Pine island, and others inhabit 20-25 other surrounding Florida Keys. I am not know of anywhere else in the world. My size compared to the white-tailed deer is miniscule. My shoulders only reach about the knees of a fully grown man. This makes me the smallest sub species of white-tailed deer in North America.
             Due to uncontrolled hunting in the 1940's, our population was thought to be less than 50. Then, in 1957, the National Key Deer Refugee and increased law enforcement were introduced. This led to increased population and habitat among my parents. Because of these actions taken, the population is now around 600-800, almost every one located on the Florida Keys, with 50% on Big Pine. No record exist, and are suspected never to have existed, regarding the origin of my species. We were suspected to have been isolated from the mainland about 6-12 thousand years ago when records were kept of the keys separating. We were first mentioned by a slave, whom wrote of us in a passage which was confiscated by officials and documented.
             We are sometimes referred to as "toy deer", this being a reference to our small size. My color is dark brown, but the color can vary from brown, to red, to gray. My weight is 85 pound, the average weight of the population. The women usually weigh about 65 pound. The shoulder height, I have already mentioned, is about as high as a full grown mans knees. This is about 28 inches on average. I usually breed between September and December. This usually results with me getting in a fight over who get the lady. This also usually results in injuries. After which, it usually takes about 7 months for the fawn to be born. Most of the young are born between April and June. The a...