04/06/2026
Meet the Key Deer one of Florida’s most unique residents.
Native only to the lower Florida Keys, these miniature deer are a subspecies of white tailed deer but stand just 26–30 inches tall and weigh as little as 55 lbs about the size of a large dog.
They were nearly wiped out in the 1940s with fewer than 50 left. Thanks to federal protection under the Endangered Species Act since 1967 and the National Key Deer Refuge, their numbers have rebounded to roughly 800–1,000 today but they remain federally endangered. ”