Michigan designated the white-tailed deer as official state game animal in 1997. Zeeland fourth-graders campaigned to include the white-tailed deer among Michigan's official state symbols.

An animal of incredible beauty and power, white-tailed deer are able to run up to 40 miles per hour, jump 9 foot fences, and swim 13 miles per hour. The white underside of its tail is waved when running and flashed as a warning when danger is sensed. Both native Americans and settlers relied on the white-tailed deer for buckskin and food.

Eleven states have designated the white-tailed deer as a state symbol: Arkansas - Illinois - Michigan - Mississippi - Nebraska - New Hampshire - Ohio - Oklahoma - Pennsylvania - South Carolina - Wisconsin.

Source:

State Symbols: Michigan.gov
The White-Tailed Deer: EEK Critter Corner
MasterClips stock photo of whitetail deer fawn

Links:

White-tailed Deer: Nature Works
Free Photos: Nature of New England
Forest Foods Deer Eat: MI Dept of Natural Resources
White-tailed Deer: Animal Diversity Web; U of Michigan
White-tailed Deer: Desert USA
State Animals - Mammals: 50 States List