Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

has found color perception in deer is much like that of a human who is
red-green color blind (Jacobs et al. 1994). A deer’s sense of hearing is
very acute. Large, moveable ears allow them to detect sounds at great
distances and pinpoint the direction of these sounds.
Perhaps most important to deer is their sense of smell. Relative
to most other species of wildlife, deer have extremely elongated
noses. Within this nose is an intricate system of nasal passages that
provides a large surface area for olfactory (smell) perception. The tissue
lining the nasal passages contains millions of olfactory receptor sites.
Among wildlife species, deer have one of the keenest senses of smell.
This extraordinary sense of smell is the primary method deer use to
avoid predators—including humans. Other important functions of smell
include identification of other deer, identification of food sources, and
identification of individual deer relative to reproductive status. For
example, bucks may use smell to identify does that are receptive to
breeding.
Scent communication is probably the most important aspect of
a deer’s sense of smell. Researchers now have identified seven glands
in white-tailed deer, most of which are used for some type of scent communication
(Miller 1997). Three of these glands are located on the legs.
The interdigital glands are located between the hooves of all four feet.
The metatarsal glands are located on the outside of the hind legs and
the tarsal glands are located on the inside of the hind legs.
The tarsal gland is perhaps the most important of these glands.
This structure consists of a patch of elongated hairs underlain by an
area of large sebaceous glands. The sebaceous glands secrete a fatty
lipid that adheres to the hairs of the tarsal gland. This area gives off a
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