Deer are among the most graceful and attractive of animals. They are of the Cervidae family, order Artiodactyla, hoofed, and they feed on grass. Deer are known to all parts of the world except Australia, Antarctica, central and southern Africa, New Zealand, and Madagascar. They are the only animals that grow antlers and have adapted to virtually every land habitat from dry deserts to woodlands, prairies, marshes, and Arctic regions. Deer have a common origin with giraffes. They appeared during the Oligocene Epoch, becoming separated from giraffes during the Miocene Epoch, 24 million to six million years ago. The white-tailed deer of North America had been hunted nearly to extinction and only through game management have become the most numerous large-game animal on the continent.