Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

egulation of deer populations ensures critical habitat components are
protected for numerous wildlife species. Hunting should be appreciated
for the cultural and societal benefits it provides, as well as the
effective management tool it has become.
As with any tool, hunting can be applied improperly or inefficiently.
It is the job of state wildlife agencies and biologists to provide
the regulatory framework and, along with research universities, the
management information that ensures the most efficient application of
hunting as a management tool. In the years since subsistence hunting
largely disappeared, there have been numerous advances in the field of
scientific wildlife management. There also are numerous approaches
to the management of deer through legal hunting. Some of these approaches
have served the public and the deer herd very well, while other
methods have resulted in poorly managed and unnatural deer herds.
Today the principles of proper deer management are well defined and
effective. Implementing these management techniques often entails
overcoming the obstacles of popular deer lore, people’s resistance to
change, and user groups with conflicting objectives.
THE BASICS OF HERD MANAGEMENT
The primary objective of deer managers should be to maintain
a deer population within the bounds of the reasonable carrying capacity.
Beyond this, management objectives may include the production of
mature bucks, balancing adult sex ratios, or maintaining a maximum
deer harvest. Deer harvest data is most effective in determining whether
a population is within the reasonable carrying capacity. If harvest data
indicates too many deer for a unit of habitat, an aggressive harvest of
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