Do Deer Eat Bananas?

You’re seconds away from finding out if you can feed deer with bananas. It’s quite simple…

Do deer eat bananas? 

Deer will eat bananas if they are available to them. This is because banana is not something that is naturally found in a deer’s diet. But if someone leaves a banana out for a deer, they will likely eat it. Bananas offer deer plenty of fiber and potassium, which are both good for them, but besides that, bananas do not offer any more nutrients that deer need.  

deer will like snacking on bananas because believe it or not, deer have a big sweet tooth, and bananas are just so sweet. Bananas are also an easy food for them to eat because deer do not have the upper incisor teeth that animals use to eat more chewy foods.  

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Deer can be found all over the world – they can be found on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica! If a deer stumbles upon a banana plant or a banana tree, they will probably try to get the bananas for a nice snack.

These banana plants can grow in tropical regions such as in South and Central America, India, China, and Africa, so some of the 43 types of deer living today (including the Yucatan white-tailed deer, the Chinese water deer, and the Barbary stag) live in the same areas that bananas grow.

In captivity, a deer will usually be fed hay, but will sometimes be given a banana as a special treat, which is something that they enjoy.  

Can I leave food (like bananas) out for deer to eat? 

Do Deer Eat Bananas?
Deer Eating Bananas?

Experts advise against feeding wild deer and there are many reasons for this. One reason is deer who are feed by humans depend less on their environment and more on humans. This may cause the deer to lose their fear of humans, which is a fear that is actually beneficial to these animals.

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Another reason not to feed deer is that feed sites (any place where people leave food out for deer) lead to unnaturally high densities of deer. This can lead to an increase in diseases being spread around the animals and even attract predators (such as coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions) to the area, which just puts the deer at more risk.  

If you already have deer in your area that are dependent on food from humans, it is better to give them foods that they would eat in the wild (for example, leaving leaves and nuts out for deer after a snow storm covered the forest floor), but an occasional banana would not cause them any harm (and the deer would love it). 

What do deer eat? 

Deer Eating Bananas
Deer Eating Bananas

Earlier, you learned that bananas are not a part of a deer’s natural diet, so what do these animals eat? In the wild, deer usually eat leaves, twigs, weeds, grasses, nuts, and mushrooms. Their diet does vary based on the season and the weather in the area that they live.

Out of all of these items, deer seem to prefer eating leaves and twigs (which can be classified as forbs). Forbs are a good food supply for deer because they can usually be found in all climates (even if there is snow or drought, twigs and leaves can still be found), they are easily digestible, and they are rich in nutrients. 

Deer fawn will drink a diet made up entirely of their mother’s milk. This milk is very rich and provides young deer with all of the nutrients that they need to survive and grow. A mother deer will usually nurse her baby about three to four times a day.  

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What other fruit do deer eat? 

In the wild, if a deer population lives near an apple tree, they will likely enjoy eating the apples. Apples are a sweet snack for deer and they provide them with nutrients, but they are not easy for the deer to digest. The same goes for oranges- if an orange falls out of an orange tree, a deer will likely eat it.

Oranges are a bit easier for deer to digest and they also contain a lot of vitamins and water. Most deer will also enjoy eating strawberries if they find some growing, but they do not add many nutrients to the deer’s diet.  

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