The present day white-tailed deer of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge are from original native stock that survived the early settlement years of exploitation and over-hunting.
Since 1901, when the area was given protection, the remnant deer population rapidly expanded. In 1922 it was estimated that there were at least 400 deer throughout the present-day refuge and the peak population of 2,987 deer was reached in early 1961.