White Tailed Deer Essay

Hunting is very valuable to me, but the value is deeper than just hunting. There are so many aspects of hunting that I love. But I cherish my bow above all of them. Having my bow with me when I’m in the stand or when I’m at my neighbor’s house practicing, gives me a since of dominance. Also brings me pride knowing I’ve worked hard and stayed committed to something I truly love. There are all kinds of animals to hunt and different ways to hunt them. My favorite type of animal to hunt, is the white tail deer. While hunting the allusive deer I like to follow a code of ethics, which a lot of people don’t follow. Even though I would have liked to be given all my hunting needs, I’m proud of myself for going out and getting those needs by myself. Buying my bow and getting into bow hunting, caused me to take responsibility and taught me to stay committed to a true value in my life.

Many people have misconceptions about hunting. One such misconception is that hunting is easy and any person can go sit in the woods and wait for an animal to cross the hunter’s path. However, people who believe this are sorely mistaken. Hunting is not just sitting in the woods with a rifle; there are many other aspects that must be considered. An individual must have all preparations complete, purchase or gather the equipment needed, and know what to listen for while in the woods.

The third Saturday of November was one filled with conflicting emotions: excitement, fear, optimism, and nervousness. The screeching sound of the alarm at 4:00 a.m. initiated a sense of panic and thrill throughout me; it was the opening day of the gun deer hunting season. Within minutes, I was dressed from head to toe in bright, blaze orange that could be recognized from miles away. I reluctantly, yet willingly, climbed into the truck to head to the hunting land in Adams County, Wisconsin. My stomach felt like it was tied into knots. My mind was again flooded with conflicting emotions. I began to wonder: will I get a deer? Will I not get a deer? Will I get a buck?

There is no other big-game animal in North America like the white-tailed deer. The whitetails habitat is so widespread that it covers just about all of North America and parts of Central America. The white-tailed deer is the most commonly hunted big game animal ever. Before the settlers arrived, an estimated 30 million whitetails inhabited what is now the United States and Canada. But as settlers pursued them for food and market hunters slaughtered them with snares, traps, and set guns, the deer population underwent a disastrous decline. By 1900, only 400,000 whitetails remained.

When the white-tailed deer show up in my backyard, it's like witnessing a direct link to an age almost forgotten. I freeze in my tracks, and I can't help but think about their unbroken chain of ancestors going back into the ancient past. These animals were here long before any settlers arrived from Europe. They were the hunted long before rifles replaced bows and arrows. They knew these lands when the waters were still clean and the air was still fresh. They knew these lands when there were no cars and no railroads. They were here before horses were brought to this continent from Europe. In their majestic silence, the deer have witnessed footpaths become trails, trails become roads, and roads become interstates. Their resilience is remarkable.

The White-tail deer can often be found all over southern Canada and most parts of the United States. Their range extends throughout Central America to Bolivia. This sophisticated animal's habitat range is usually less than a square mile. Some of the White-tail deer's habitats include grasslands, prairies and plains, mountains, and forests. These deer prefer a more sheltered habitat; they often reside in forests, including hardwoods, coniferous, and tropical forests. However they may reside in forests such as tropical forests for a more sheltered habitat. The White-tale deer can adapt to their many habitats and they have incredibly strong muscles in their leg that allow them to run up to speeds such as 30 miles per hour! This is quite an advantage when it comes to running from predators. The White-tail deer has quite simple needs for a healthy life. Shelter from harmful weather or predators, food and water, and the space to find food and water, and to attract a mate.

Obviously, no one is taking 200 yard shots with even the most powerful crossbow, so long range capability isn't a concern while bow hunting. Now it may be a big concern to the bow hunter who also uses a rifle (or even just plays golf, but that's another topic). But just focusing on the act of bow hunting, the typical 100 yard range limit of most dedicated bow hunting range finders would be fine.

"Sport" hunting is a violent form of recreation that has left countless animals maimed, and orphaned animals vulnerable to starvation, exposure, and predation. This activity disrupts natural animal population dynamics and has contributed to the extinction of animal species all over the world, including the Tasmanian tiger and the great auk.(1,2)

In recent news, there have been a large number of cases associated to Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) which have impacted a number of American Indian communities in Arizona. (CDC/IHS, Newsweek).

Van der Hoek D, Knapp AK, Briggs JM, and Bokdam J. 2002. White-tailed deer browsing on six shrub species of tallgrass prairie Great Plains Res 1:141.

The animals which were identified as a nuisance to agricultural crops were deer, raccoons and groundhogs (MacGowan et al., n.d). In some states, feral hogs would be added to that list, as well as coyotes (only in areas that grow melons). As noted by Sramek, (n.d.) “Coyotes are known for their particular fondness of watermelons and cantaloupes and will readily seek them as a food source” (Coyote diets, para. 3). We limited the project to whitetail deer, due to a readily available test field located in an area populated by whitetail deer; and whitetail deer are ranked as one of the leading animals causing crop damage (Belant, Seamans, & Tyson, 1998, January). Additionally, whitetails have shown the ability to habituate very quickly to many techniques used to scare them off (Hildreth, Hygnstrom, & Vercauteren, 2013). Given that whitetail deer are skittish

Correspondingly, beyond the grass, a pond puts forward its purpose as the substantial amount of wildlife presented depends on its spring. As each creature drinks from the water, the motion creates a wonderstruck view of ripples across the clear, blue water. Since each creature cannot sustain life without water, one could easily observe a variety of animals. Furthermore, among all the creatures including the birds, squirrels, and rabbits, I find the whitetail deer to be superior to observe. This creature offers superiority to others because of its obvious strength, independence, and beauty. The whitetail deer is an elegant creature with a tan, brown colored coat with a white undercarriage, accompanied by dark brown eyes. Likewise, the deer as

In the northern parts of the United States the white tail deer will mate usually from November to mid January, and in the southern parts in January to February. After the male and the female mate the female will then have anywhere from one to three fawns. Also the white tail deer is pregnant for about 200 days. But they will have there kids in the later part of spring. The white tail deer can be found in wooded areas and also in some urban areas especially where they were living at and then over time quickly changed so fast with houses being

The history of white-tailed deer in Missouri shows positive and negative influences humans can have on wildlife. During presettlement times, the whitetail was abundant in Missouri, especially in the more fertile and diverse habitats of northern Missouri. The influx of European settlers to Missouri during the last half of the 19th century coincided with a rapid decline in the deer population. Unrestricted market hunting and habitat destruction, such as cutting, burning, farming and grazing forest lands, contributed most to this decline.

Once the infected midge bites deer or livestock the disease is then transmitted to that animal. This disease isn’t limited to North America, there have been cases from South America to Turkey. Mainly showing up in livestock in their countries, so far North America is the only one that has shown effects on deer.