White Tailed Deer Communication All animals have their own distinct way of communicating to one another and to other species around them. A white tailed deer is one of the most common types of deer in the United States. A male deer is known as a buck while a female deer is known as a doe and her babies are known as fawns. Bucks are usually bigger in size than does. Deer go through a breeding season that causes bucks to go into rut, where they are less cautious with what and where they go and more active than usual. White tailed deer communicate through scent, visual presentation, and vocally. White tailed deer have a very strong sense of smell. Their smell is one of the most important senses that guides them through their life. They rely
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.
For decades, Colorado has been home to some of the country's largest mule deer herds, so many in fact that certain areas in Colorado are dubbed “the mule deer factory.” Though this so called “factory” is declining, mule deer are still considered the most iconic wildlife of the American West. Mule deer get their name from their very large and mule like ears, which are around three fourths of the length of their heads. Mule deer usually range from three to three and a half feet tall at the shoulder, four to seven feet long, and can weigh anywhere from 130 to 300 pounds in some cases.
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.
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
There are two types of deer that are found in South Dakota, Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer. However, Mule Deer can sometimes be hard to find because of where they live. They are usually found around the Buttes and Bluffs rather than the Tree Groves and Corn Fields. Hunters that are dead set on finding a trophy Mule Deer will most likely be found West of the Missouri River. However, whitetail deer have been known to live anywhere and all over South Dakota.
In the late winter season, bucks are all about keeping their bellies full, so you only have to find a good food on your property to locate the antlers. What are some good food sources for deer? Anything from corn to soybeans to
Mule deer and Whitetail deer share many similarities and differences. The first similarity between them is that males are called bucks and the females are called does. Secondly, they are both hunted a lot, for both their meat and their antlers. On the other hand Mule deer and Whitetail deer have many differences.
When people talk about deer, they are commonly talking about the North American Whitetail. That is because they are so prevalent in this country. They can be found in every state in the US. The only place where you will not find any whitetails is in parts of Arizona and California. In most states the whitetail is very prevalent, especially in the northeast. They are one of the most hunted animals in this area, particularly in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Despite the amount they are hunted, both in and out of season, you can not drive more than a few miles out of the towns without seeing one that was hit by a car. The deer population in this area just keeps growing. It is unclear what
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.
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
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
Processing a deer takes time and patience. If the deer hunter did not take his time and have patience then the meat the hunter is trying to preserve then it would not be correctly processed. If the deer is not correctly preserved then the deer would not have as much meat the hunter would like to have. Before the hunter skins a deer the hunter needs to properly field dress that deer by taking all of its insides out and cleaning that specific part. Afterwards when
In early April, fawns (baby deer) are born. After a few weeks, the doe (the mother deer) leaves her fawns to find food. The doe leaves her fawns in a bushy place. The trees and grass can help keep the fawns from being seen by hungry predators. The white-tailed deer has many predators, such as these: mountain lions, bobcats, leopards, lions, dogs, bears, tigers, coyotes, wolves, and even humans.
As the morning wore on I began to get anxious and fidgety feeling that no deer were going to come. As I was contemplating whether to leave my stand in the field, I recognized two deer grazing peacefully in the middle of the field. I quickly pulled up and looked through my scope and saw nothing but green fuzz. I was so nervous that I had forgotten to readjust the focus on my scope. As I did, the deer saw me move and began to trot away from me and into the protection of the forest. I managed to get my scope in focus in time to see that there was a buck and a doe. My chance had finally come. I was going to get my first Vermont buck. I immediately stood up from my stand and jogged over to where they had entered the woods. Once in the woods, I evaluated the surroundings and had a good