Deer Essay

Over just a century ago the whitetail deer population became nearly extinct, mostly due to a rapid expansion in the railroad system. At this same time market hunting, weak enforcement of game laws, and habitat loss contributed to the dangerously low deer populations in the late 1800’s. In states like Kansas and Indiana deer were completely extinct, being endangered in many others. With the whitetail deer population doubling every two years there is an estimated thirty million deer in the United States (Rooney, 2012). Although with these over-abundant populations comes the destruction of natural resources along with diseases and other factors that can tremendously affect the population. While there are many factors that play an active role in the declination of Whitetail deer populations, chronic wasting disease is just one of them.

It is impossible to discuss deer at all without talking about deer management, because there is there hardly a deer alive in America today that is not directly influenced by man. We control the water the deer drinks, the food that it eats, and the land that it lives on, and we regulate the manner, sex, and amount of deer harvested. The problem lies in the way we manage the deer herd. The time has come to practice Quality Deer Management.

The ultimate dream of nearly all outdoorsmen in the United States of America today is to kill a mature old whitetail buck, and these chances have been very few and far between in the state of Tennessee in the past. In order for a male whitetail deer to grow into, what some might call, a trophy buck, it will take a

The white tailed deer is one of the most popular deer in South Carolina. This deer can be found in southern Canada and most of the United States except for Alaska and Hawaii. They are also herbivores, meaning they feed on only plants. They can grow up to 7.2 feet long and 3.3 feet tall and a minimum of 3.1 feet long and 2.6 feet tall. Their gestation period is about 201 days. They can run up to 30 miles per hour and can weigh anywhere between 100 pounds to 150 pounds. Lastly they can live for around two to three years. But coyote are the predators for the white tailed deer. They can weigh anywhere from 15 to 46 pounds. They are about 1.9 to 2.2 feet tall. They can run about 43 miles per hour. They are also carnivores which means they feed on meat and

The deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the most widely dispersed mammal in North America and is the primary reservoir species for SNV (University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources 2013). Deer mice are nocturnal and are found throughout all types of habitats ranging from forests to scrublands, making this a very ubiquitous species that primarily feed on grains and seeds(University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources 2013). However deer mice are very adaptable animals that can change their diets to suit their environment and their diet can consist of invertebrates, fungi, fruits, and green vegetation. The typical lifespan of deer mice is 2 years and they typically do not breed during the winter, although in times of abundant food supply and warm temperatures they may breed year round with liter size varying from three to six young SNV (University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources 2013).

In the northeast area, the deer population is especially high. Because they are now so heavily populated, they are starting to cause more and more problems. Crop damage, which is when a farmer loses a substantial amount of crops, is growing with the deer population. This is a huge problem for the farmers because they are losing a lot of money by feeding the deer. With the rising population,

White-tailed deer have made a tremendous impact on native plant species and endangered ecosystems such as the tallgrass prairie. The purpose of this article is to show how increasing deer populations effect the native shrubs in the Great Plains. In this paper, researchers assessed six shrub species on deer activity in the summer time. Plant species and deer trail placement had strong effects on the amount of shrub cover and browse pattern. Researchers found that shrub cover was higher around deer trails than off or away from deer trails. The data suggests that the shrub species most likely impacted by white-tailed deer browsing were woody plant species, or small trees and shrubs. The results suggest that even in summer when deer tend also to feed and browse in

Although there are often comments in the media about the over abundant deer population, the historical analysis summarized in the figure above shows the population of white-tailed deer returned to about pre-European settlement numbers by the year 2000. Data for the trend in the white-tailed deer population from 2000 and earlier is based on Kert VerCauteren in The Deer Boom and the Wildlife Management Institute's 1984 book "Whitetail Deer Ecology and Management", updated using current harvest data and state population estimates. A summary of historic mule and black-tail population estimates. Read a peer reviewed research article demonstrating how public management decisions in California have contributed to the long term decine of the

The National Park Service (NPS) and the U. S. Department of the Interior (USDI) drafted the Catoctin Mountain National Park Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (2006) to impart knowledge of a need for action to facilitate the regeneration of vegetation and reforestation of the park. A population of white-tailed deer that was exceeding an estimated 100 individual animals per square mile was over browsing the vegetation. According to the EIS a population of 15 to 20 individuals is optimal to protect herd health and allow regeneration of the vegetation. The EIS listed four alternatives that were investigated in depth according to the National Environmental Protection Act requirements (FHWA, n.d.) these

Reintroduction of wolves brought about recovery of plants and animals in Yellowstone National Park. In 1990s, deer were overpopulated due to absence of its predator, wolves. Regardless of people’s efforts, the number of deer kept increasing. As a result,

I found this data through the Missouri Department of Conservation (mdc.gov) and the United States Department of Agriculture (nass.usda.gov) websitesthat gave statistics for the five variables for the last thirty years starting in 1981 and ending in 2010.

So to put that into perspective from Kansas, down to Mexico, and from Kansas up into Canada, and all the way to the water on the East Coast. Typically Whitetail Deer in the Midwest will eat on green sprouting plants in the summer when its hot. Such as turnips, clover, alfalfa and even beans and corn before it starts to change in color and start to harden. In the winter time, the Whitetail Deer will move more to cover to keep out of the harsh elements. They revert to acorns falling from the trees and also corn and beans before its about to be harvested. Also having food plots planted for them with greens on it for the late season will also keep the deer on your place. If you leave food on your land and the deer know about it they will be there until you run out. Whitetail deer typically get the biggest out of the four different types of deer. Many Whitetails go beyond the 300 pound mark. Antler size ranges on the Whitetail the farther east u go towards the water. This is because there is less crops for them to eat such as were Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois produce some of the most crops in the United States on yearly basis were North Carolina hardly produces any crops. Typically more food the state has for deer, the bigger the deer will get in body size and also body

In the past few decades, white-tailed deer populations in North America have increased drastically. Due to some relief in predation—in correlation with changes in the environment—deer populations in many zones meet or exceed 10 deer per square kilometer, which is a much higher ratio than in the 1960’s and 1970’s (Côté 116). With an overabundance of deer, many problems arise; the diversity and success of habitats decline, agriculture suffers, more deer-vehicle collisions occur, and quite a few more issues appear. In order to maintain a healthy number of deer and reduce these issues, deer populations

There have been many studies by deer ranches that raise deer for hunting purposes as well as studies by parks and wildlife on the breeding of deer. The pros and cons of a deer living in the wild as opposed to a deer living on several acres of land surrounded by an eight foot fence. There is some research that suggest there are ways of increasing your deer herd while improving the quality of deer that are being produced. Because many rancher have turned to raising deer when the cattle market went down the amount of deer leases has increased. With the increase in ranches raising deer there has also been an increase of people trying to find ways to produce the perfect buck to breed to the perfect doe. In the wild there is also research to

Mom and dad both had to work late so we took our time stop whenever we seen a deer to when we seen a squirrel. We seen well over 20 deer in the 2 hours we were up there. A little ways outside