Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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ment. A hungry deer will move to find food. <strong>Deer</strong> may be seen out foraging for food at all times of the day and night in heavily overpopulated areas. <strong>Deer</strong> movement is increased due to increased travel time between cover and feeding areas in habitats where cover and forage areas are poorly interspersed. HOME RANGE SIZE The total amount of space a deer occupies during most of its life is termed its home range. A deer will conduct its normal activities such as feeding, breeding, and caring for fawns within this home range. Adequate home range is large enough to provide the basic essentials for life and reproduction, yet small enough to allow the deer a survival advantage through familiarity with the range. Does typically have much smaller home ranges than bucks. Studies in the Southeast have reported home range sizes of 300 to 600 acres for does; home range sizes for bucks have been reported at two to four times that size (Demarais and Strickland 1999). One reason for larger home range sizes in bucks is to accommodate breeding concerns. A buck with a home range encompassing multiple doe home ranges increases his chances for mating success. DISPERSAL Dispersal can be defined as the movement away from a deer’s original home range and the establishment of a new and permanent home range. The original home range is typically the area in which a particular deer was born. Reasons for dispersal are varied. For the most part, dispersal is in response to social pressures within a deer herd and is not correlated with a lack of food. Several studies through- 14
out the Southeast have reported dispersal rates among yearling bucks as high as 85% (Holzenbein and Marchinton 1992). These studies have shown dispersal distances among yearling bucks ranging from two miles to greater than six miles (Kammermeyer and Marchinton 1976). While the actual percentage of yearling males that disperse great distances is debatable—it is certain a significant proportion of yearling males do disperse. Maternal aggression (directed at immature bucks by their mothers) during the breeding and fawning season has been identified as a primary cause for dispersal among yearling bucks. Additionally, studies have shown temporary dispersal among 40 to 50% of 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 year old bucks during the rut. Thus, pressure from adult bucks is a primary factor in these events (Downing and McGinnes 1976). Compared to bucks, yearling does display very little dispersal with the exception of the breeding/ fawning periods. Much of this dispersal among young does is temporary. Dispersal of buck fawns or “button bucks” typically occurs during the breeding and fawning seasons when they are forcibly driven away by their mothers. 15
Page 1: Biology and Management of White-tai
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents PREFACE .........
Page 7 and 8: JAWBONE EXTRACTION ................
Page 9 and 10: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefu
Page 11 and 12: PREFACE White-tailed deer (Odocoile
Page 13 and 14: TAXONOMY The white-tailed deer is o
Page 15 and 16: darker winter coat. Fawns are born
Page 17 and 18: Deer have many glands that are used
Page 19 and 20: tiates antler growth. The secretion
Page 21 and 22: DEER BEHAVIOR VOCALIZATION AND COMM
Page 23: Among bucks, two males of equal sta
Page 27 and 28: check their scrapes regularly to de
Page 29 and 30: The sex ratio of fawns at birth is
Page 31 and 32: (midges) are highest. To date there
Page 33 and 34: is extremely unlikely to fall prey
Page 35 and 36: and even fawn production—will be,
Page 37 and 38: and living body tissue. Many of the
Page 39 and 40: trace elements are important to a d
Page 41 and 42: are compatible with other objective
Page 43 and 44: tural crops may be used heavily as
Page 45 and 46: providing nutritious cool-season fo
Page 47 and 48: SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF HABITAT COMP
Page 49 and 50: Soil quality has a significant impa
Page 51 and 52: Determining CC for deer habitat can
Page 53 and 54: cycle of poor deer herd and habitat
Page 55 and 56: dam and her new fawns later in the
Page 57 and 58: POPULATION DENSITY The number of an
Page 59 and 60: determining exactly how many indivi
Page 61 and 62: searching for breeding opportunitie
Page 63 and 64: comes intense with improved buck ag
Page 65 and 66: the 1960s, deer were restocked in m
Page 67 and 68: sive quality deer management progra
Page 69 and 70: factors such as reproductive succes
Page 71 and 72: egulation of deer populations ensur
Page 73 and 74: The above graphs represent the hypo
Page 75 and 76:
acceptable hunting satisfaction bec
Page 77 and 78:
proportioned. Clearly, all the elem
Page 79 and 80:
hunters to see numbers of deer whil
Page 81 and 82:
In suboptimal habitats, body weight
Page 83 and 84:
changes occur in herd structure and
Page 85 and 86:
product of QDM and not a major goal
Page 87 and 88:
offset the influences of dispersal
Page 89 and 90:
Two controversial questions related
Page 91 and 92:
It appears removing spike antlered
Page 93 and 94:
guarantee the superior bucks hunter
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Perhaps the most common cause of di
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tivity of the property (Woods 1999b
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may justify a modification of the d
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ces and make management recommendat
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A method for removing jawbones that
Page 105 and 106:
extractor towards the deer’s nose
Page 107 and 108:
spread, basal circumference, and ma
Page 109 and 110:
LACTATION Checking a doe for the pr
Page 111 and 112:
deer seen into more specific classi
Page 113 and 114:
and harvest recommendations for the
Page 115 and 116:
of the year as a comparable type fo
Page 117 and 118:
during the spring and summer, but t
Page 119 and 120:
HERBICIDE TREATMENT Another techniq
Page 121 and 122:
TIMBER HARVEST Periodic removal of
Page 123 and 124:
foods in any area. Fertilizer incre
Page 125 and 126:
WILDLIFE OPENINGS Of all the manage
Page 127 and 128:
areas. Very few of the crops common
Page 129 and 130:
samples. These boxes are usually av
Page 131 and 132:
ag of fertilizer, while soil test r
Page 133 and 134:
Applying the Seed Seed should be ap
Page 135 and 136:
cult. Many of these new crops show
Page 137 and 138:
acre), and wheat (one bushel per ac
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using small portions of the opening
Page 141 and 142:
able weight loss at the conclusion
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trace minerals. Another considerati
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Number 8. P-R Project W-35, Alabama
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Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Volume 2, Page
Page 149 and 150:
ings of the Role of Genetics in Whi
Page 151 and 152:
APPENDICES 141
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Appendix 1: AVERAGE BODY WEIGHT, AN
Page 155 and 156:
Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 157 and 158:
Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 159 and 160:
Appendix 4: SELECTIVE ANTLERLESS DE
Page 161 and 162:
Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 163 and 164:
Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 165 and 166:
Appendix 7: FIELD OBSERVATION FORM
Page 167 and 168:
Appendix 9: COOL-SEASON PLANTING GU
Page 169 and 170:
CRIMSON CLOVER Planting Date: Septe
Page 171 and 172:
RAPE Planting Date: August 15 - Nov
Page 173 and 174:
SUBTERRANEAN CLOVER Planting Date:
Page 175 and 176:
Appendix 10: WARM-SEASON PLANTING G
Page 177 and 178:
COWPEAS Planting Date: May 1 - July
Page 179 and 180:
RAPE Planting Date: April 15 - June
Page 181 and 182:
Appendix 11: CONTACT INFORMATION FO
Page 183 and 184:
Appendix 12: SUGGESTED READING AND
Page 185:
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chris Cook receiv
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Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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