Whitetail deer eat a lot of different things, but did you know that they can actually be pretty picky eaters during good seasons when rain is plentiful and food is abundant? Turns out that whitetail deer forage on leaves, stems, seeds, and fruits from a wide variety of plants but just like humans they have their favorites and tend to stick to them whenever possible. In fact, according to experts at Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) whitetail deer literally “choose vegetation based on palatability, seasonal availability, vegetative abundance, precipitation and overall quality of the habitat.” So what do our south Texas whitetail like to feast on? Their top choices include: beauty berries, cedar elm, manzanita, prickly pears, coma, four-wing saltbush, southwest bernardia, sugar hackberry, granjeno, guayacan, Texas kidneywood, and vines ephedra. Learn how to identify these south Texas favorites here. And, what if these top favorites aren’t available? What do they eat then? Learn what’s #2 on their list here.