Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

A deer population is dynamic and to be properly managed, it must be
continually monitored. The collection of specific biological data from
hunter-harvested deer and the interpretation of these data allow the
wildlife biologist or manager to evaluate the effectiveness of the management
program to date. The biologist or manager then can adjust
recommendations as needed. For the manager to get the full benefit of
the data and, in turn, use the data to the best of his ability, the person
collecting the data needs to know what information to collect and how it
should be collected.
The types of information that can be collected from a deer
herd are wide ranging, including basic physical information (weight,
antler points, etc.), reproductive information (fetuses per doe, breeding
dates, etc.), and
hunter observation
data (fawn to doe ratios,
doe to buck
ratios, deer sighted
per hour of hunting,
etc.). When this information
is
Having the proper tools and instruction on how
to use them makes data collection simple.
Scales, pruning shears, jawbone puller,
measuring tape, and data sheets are about all
that is needed to collect most deer harvest data.
collected on an annual
basis, the
wildlife manager is
able to monitor
trends in certain
physiological indi-
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