In the middle of the 20th century, Alabama embarked on an extensive restocking program, bringing in whitetail deer from as far away as Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin to rebuild the herds. Also, deer from southwest Alabama were captured in relocated to other parts of the state. Due in part to all these different genetics, the rut for Alabama’s deer is literally all over the map. “You can look at the distribution map of where deer were stocked in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and you can see the different genetics of those deer that came from the different parts of the country and even different parts of the state,” says Chuck Sykes, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Director. “You can see [...]

A polar vortex is gripping the northern half of the U.S., creating brutal conditions. It’s minus 10 this morning in Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan where I hunt a lot, and around zero and dropping in Minnesota and Wisconsin. How do northern whitetails survive this intense cold and snow? Chris Whittier, a researcher and professor at Tufts University, explains it well in this article: …deer physically prepare for the winter by better insulating their bodies. In the fall, deer gradually trade their summer hair coat for a winter one, which consists of thicker, longer, and darker hairs called guard hairs, while also growing in a much thicker undercoat. This winter coat absorbs more sunlight and traps more body heat than the summer [...]