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WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The white-tailed deer is named for its most distinctive feature, the large white tail or "flag" that is often all you see as the animal bounds away through the forest. The color of the deer's upper body and sides changes with the season, from a reddish-brown in summer to grey-brown in winter. Their belly and the underside of the tail are completely white, with a white patch on the throat. White-tails shed their fur twice a year; the heavy winter coat gives way to a lighter one in spring which is replaced again in early fall. A fawn's coat is similar to the adult's, except the neck, flanks, and back are covered with white spots that gradually disappear when the deer is three to four months old. Fawns are born in late spring and summer and by early November a male fawn weighs about 85 pounds and a female about 80 pounds. Yearling bucks average 150 pounds, while does of the same age average about 20 percent less, or about 120 pounds. Mature white-tailed deer are 3-31/2 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 100-250 pounds. White Tail Flag White-tailed deer possess several scent glands that are used to deposit scent on tree branches, vegation, and the ground. These “scents” serve for intraspecies communication during breeding season or the “rut”, to mark territory in the case of breeding bucks, and as distress signals to other deer. The four major glands are the pre-orbital below the eyes, forehead, tarsal, and metatarsal glands. The metatarsal glands are on the outside of each hind leg, and a larger tarsal gland are on the inside of each hind leg at the hock. Scent from these glands is deposited on vegetation as the deer walk through the woods. Interdigital glands are located between the two parts of the hoof on all four feet, and transfers scent to the ground when the deer stomps its feet during displays of dominance or warning of danger. Tarsal Scent Gland 1 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) Only male deer have antlers. Antler size is determined by the individual’s genetics, the availability of high quality food, and the deer's age. Antlers begin to grow in March or April and continue through August or September. At the peak of development, antlers may grow as much as one-half inch per day. While developing, the antlers are covered with a soft furry skin called "velvet." As this soft skin dries in the fall, the bucks rub their antlers against trees and shrubs to remove the velvet. Bucks shed their Antlered Deer - Buck antlers after the breeding season ends in late January and develop new sets of antlers the following season. Each successive "rack" of antlers will grow larger than the previous set, provided nutrition is adequate. Large antlers are an important factor in courtship and breeding. Antlers are used as a visual display of dominance and as weapons during competition between adult bucks. REPRODUCTION White-tailed deer usually become sexually mature during their second year, but females on agricultural ranges may breed during their first fall. The breeding season occurs from late October to December when hormonal changes triggered by the shorter daylight photoperiod cause females to leave groups of related individuals and become receptive for breeding. During the breeding season, or "rut", bucks establish breeding territories which they defend from other males. Bucks mark their territories with scrapes (pawed up areas of ground on which they uninate) and rubs (areas on trees where the bark has been removed by antler rubbing). Bucks will mate with as many does as possible within their territory, often aggressively using their antlers and hooves to challenge and drive off other bucks. Buck Rub 2 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) Following a gestation period of approximately 200 days, does seek a secluded location to give birth, often near their own birthplace. A doe may Produce from one to three fawns depending on her age, nutritional condition, and severity of winter. Fawns weigh 4-8 pounds at birth and have a reddish-brown coat with many lightspots. They move very little the first few weeks, relying on their natural camouflage and nearly scentless condition to alert predators of their White-tailed Deer Fawn presence. During this time the doe returns frequently to nurse and groom her fawns. While waiting for the mother to return, fawns lay flat on the ground with their necks outstretched, well camouflaged against the forest floor. Fawns withhold their feces and urine until the mother arrives, at which point she licks the fawn to induce defecation and urination, and ingests whatever the fawn voids to deny predators any indication of the fawn’s presence. White-tailed deer have good eyesight and acute hearing, but depend mainly on their sense of smell, especially to detect danger. Fawns are weaned by 10 weeks with male fawns leaving their mothers after one year, while female fawns may remain with the doe for two years. The fawn’s spotted coat is replaced by their adult coloration in 4-5 months. Deer attain their maximum size in 3-5 years. DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE The white-tailed deer is the most abundant and most widely distributed big game animal in North America. Recent estimates of their numbers suggest up to 30 million white-tail deer occupy North America. Unregulated hunting once decimated their populations nearly to extinction in many areas. However, in recent decades ongoing development of suburban areas improved the habitat for white-tailed deer, allowing their populations to recover in most regions. In some parts of their range conservation practices have proved so successful that white-tailed deer populations far exceed their carrying capacity and they are considered a nuisance and a danger to vehicular Deer Browse Line 3 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) traffic on roads and highways. The lack of natural predators which normally cull young, sick or infirm specimens has contributed to locally over abundant populations. Overpopulations of white-tail deer also pose threats to woodlands by browsing on new growth and inhibiting natural forest succession. Disease and parasites are also more easily transmitted when deer densities become high (e.g., deer ticks and lyme disease) Deer feed on a variety of mast crops such as hickory nuts and acorns, succulent fruit, herbs, grass, twigs, leaves of woody plants and fungi throughout the year. In fall and winter, the high priority deer foods are evergreen browse, hard and soft mast crops, herbaceous vegetation and fungi. Adult deer require 6 to 8 pounds of food per 100 pounds of body mass daily. Deer reproductive rates and survival during adverse winter conditions depend on the relative body fat stored during summer and fall Deer Food - Hard Mast Crop feeding. The abundance and quality of summer-fall foods largely govern the reproductive condition of deer. Nutrition, age and genetics govern antler development. Agricultural crops constitute from 40 to more than 50 percent of the white-tail’s year round diet in some areas. Although deer can obviously subsist entirely on native foods, they apparently have a preference for farm crops. This preference constitutes the biggest deer management problem in agricultural areas, balancing deer numbers so as to satisfy both hunter demand and landowner tolerance. HABITS AND HABITAT Deer are crepuscular, being most active in early morning and evening. White-tailed deer are extremely agile and may bound at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour through tangled terrain in a forest. White-tailed deer are also good swimmers and often enter large streams and lakes to escape predators or insects or to visit islands. The home range of the white-tailed deer is usually less than one mile. Males generally have larger ranges that expand during the rut. Forested areas with brushy stands of young vegetation and scattered openings, or agricultural areas with a combination of crop fields, woodlands and wetlands characterize good deer habitat. Areas that contain early succession vegetation are especially good habitats for deer. 4 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) Territorial behavior in deer is seasonal. Bucks become quite territorial during the breeding season. Males begin rutting as early as September, and at this time they become entirely preoccupied with locating does for mating. They do not guard harems, as with elk, rather they mark and defend a geographical territory, and challenge other males for opportunities to mate with females within their territories. During the spring fawning season does are generally intolerant of other females except within groups of related individuals. White-tailed deer are generally considered solitary, especially in summer. The basic social unit is a female and her fawns, although does have been observed to graze together in large groups. Females generally follow their mothers for about two years, while males leave the group within the first year. Bucks may form transient “bachelor” groups of 2-4 males in the summer, but these disband prior to the mating season. Deer are most social in winter when they often form groups in areas that offer protection from severe weather known as “deeryards”. They routinely use the same pathways or trails when foraging, but they will not bed down during the day in previously used areas. WHITE-TAILED DEER AND FOREST MANAGEMENT The BCC-IWLA’s West Woods were subjected to high-grade timber harvests in the past which removed the oldest large and most valuable trees. Although such harvests are a poor method of forest management in terms of future timber sales, they do benefit wildlife like the white-tailed deer. When the dominant hardwoods are removed, openings in the forest canopy are created allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor providing energy for the growth of brush, shrubs and mast crop producing trees such as oaks. Because the white-tailed deer is a browser and grazer, it prospers in Early Succession Vegetation this lush early succession vegetation. Since acquiring the West Woods property, B-CC IWLA members have attempted to improve the quality of the habitat for deer by managing the open areas created by the previous logging operations, failed development attempts, and an obsolete power line right-of-way. These areas now open to the sunlight became thick with black berry bushes and multiflora rose, creates habitat diversity and edge effect. 5 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) In contrast, the habitat of the North East Woods is being altered naturally by early successional tree species of red cedar and Virginia pine dying and eventually falling to the forest floor as they reach the end of their life cycle. The newly created forest opening allow sunlight to reach the young oak and hickory seedlings, thus ensuring their future as the dominant species of this woodland. Within the North East Woods, the forces of habitat change are wind, rain, snow, and time. These dense Early Successional Red Cedar Dying woods with seasonal blow-downs of aging trees, while not providing abundant food, do provide deer with cover for bedding down at night and shelter from harsh winter weather. This is evidenced by the multitudes of deer trails that criss-cross the Northeast Woods habitat and lead to more productive agricultural fields and hardwood forests that yield abundant seasonal mast crop food resources. MANAGEMENT ISSUES Although white-tails can subsist entirely on native foods, they demonstrate a preference for farm crops, which in some areas constitutes a significant management problem for agriculture. The adaptation of white-tailed to agricultural and surburban areas creates the need for balancing deer densities to maintain healthy deer populations that satisfy both hunter demand, yet minimize agricultural damage. Planned harvests of deer in forested and agricultural areas seek to prevent the herd from approaching or exceeding carrying capacity. In these areas, hunting replaces the natural mortality that normally result from malnutrition, disease and predation. In urban areas deer-vehicle collisions are the primary mortality factor for the deer, and a substantial economic and safety problem for humans. Farm Crops / Deer Food 6 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) WHITE-TAILED DEER SIGN The BCC-IWLA woodlands and forests show an abundance of deer sign (physical evidence of white-tailed deer). Here are a few things to look for: Tracks - Deer tracks are heart-shaped. The white-tailed deer track is made by its hooves. The pointed end of the track points to where the deer was going. Tracks provide and indication of the frequency of deer use of a particular area and might also give some idea of the deer's size. Generally, the tracks of bucks and does are the same. Deer travel in narrow paths called trails. Trails usually connect where the deer eats and where it rests. Basically a deer trail is a like any other path, a small area worn from repeated use. Deer Trails White-tailed deer have places on the ground where they lay down to rest; these areas are called deer beds. Deer beds are usually surrounded by plants or shrubs that provide protection from rain or snow. Generally deer beds are 3-4 feet long and 1 1/2 feet wide. Deer Beds 7 WHITE-TAILED DEER - MANAGED SPECIES (Odocoileus virginianus) Deer do not have upper teeth in the front of their mouths. They use their back teeth to twist off and chew twigs. The fraying and tearing at the ends of twigs provide a clear indication that deer are feeding in the area. Vegetation Torn By Deer Feeding Bucks mark their territory by removing bark from trees with their antlers. This is called a "buck rub." Rubs are caused by bucks rubbing the velvet from their antlers and later in the fall, as the rut approaches, fresh sign of this antler work may appear on larger, harder trees, as restless bucks practice their fighting skills needed to defend their breeding territory. Look for buck rubs on trees from September to November. Buck rubs are usually one to two feet high off the ground. Buck Rubs Bucks paw and scrape the leaves and grass away from the ground to expose a patch of bare earth from one to three feet in diameter. In doing so, a buck applies his scent from the scent glands on his feet in the scrape, and will urinate in the scrape to add additional scent or pheromones to mark the location. This serves as a signal to does that he is in Buck Scrapes the area and available for mating, and it warns other bucks that this is his territory and that if they enter they risk a challenge or even a fight. Look for scrapes during the rut from October to December. White-tailed deer droppings look like a pile of small black-brown marbles. The scat or droppings of a rabbit are similar but only about half the size of whitetailed deer droppings. Deer Droppings 8