The deer on Avery Island are a subspecies of white-tailed deer called "Odocoileus Virginianus McIlhennyi," named after E. A. McIlhenny back in the 1920's by the Colorado Museum of Natural History, and reported by Frederic W. Miller in the Journal of Mammalogy in February, 1928. To keep the deer healthy and well nourished, there are several specially planted feed plots on Avery Island.