How Important Are Acorns For Deer?
Pennsylvania biologist Jeannine Fleegle notes that while the list of foods for whitetails is long and varied and includes crops, browse, forbs, grasses, fungi and mast, “It is no secret that acorns are a favorite on the list. If they are available, acorns dominate their diet in fall and winter.” Fleegle points to experiments that show when acorns are available, whitetails eat about 1.5 pounds of nuts daily per hundred pounds of body weight. “Deer can sustain a maximum of 30% weight loss during (the rut and into) winter,” she says. “More than that and they die of malnutrition.” It’s easy to see why acorns are so important not only to the deer, but to your hunt strategy. This summer, walk [...]