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Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH<br />

REPLACEMENT AND WEAR<br />

For over 5 decades, wildlife biologists have used a technique for<br />

aging deer based on tooth wear and replacement. This technique was<br />

developed based on jawbones from 26 known-age deer (Severinghaus,<br />

1949). Over the years, some biologists have raised questions about the<br />

accuracy of this technique. <strong>In</strong> fact, all biologists who have evaluated<br />

this technique using known-age jawbones were unable to consistently<br />

assign accurate ages to deer beyond 2-1/2 years old (Ryel et al. 1961;<br />

Sauer, 1971; Jacobson and Reiner, 1989; Mitchell and Smith, 1991;<br />

Hamlin et al. 2000; Gee et al. 2002). Additionally, another study noted<br />

that buck and doe teeth wear at different rates—this pattern of wear is<br />

common among other cervids (Van Deelan et al. 2000).<br />

It is logical to suggest that all deer do not display similar tooth<br />

wear rates. Some deer’s teeth wear faster than do those of other deer.<br />

Soil composition and the type and amount of foods eaten can influence<br />

tooth wear. Some deer tend to chew more on one side of their mouth.<br />

This aspect of feeding behavior also can influence tooth wear and subsequent<br />

attempts to accurately age deer.<br />

There is great reluctance among many in the deer management<br />

community to question, let alone abandon, the Severinghaus aging technique.<br />

However, the fact remains that this technique cannot reliably<br />

assign precise ages to deer older than 2-1/2 years of age. These shortcomings<br />

notwithstanding, the tooth wear and replacement aging method<br />

remains a valuable tool for discerning between fawns, yearlings, and<br />

adult deer. For most deer managers, this technique can be used in<br />

conjunction with other physical characteristics in their efforts to ex-<br />

145

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