Deer Science Archives - Page 16 of 43

13 05, 2019

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2019 Update

admin2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00May 13th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|6 Comments

On this just released CWD tracking map focus on the light-gray blocks, which show the current confirmation of the disease in wild populations of deer. Cases in north Mississippi and west Tennessee are relatively new, as is the gray block in north-central Virginia (Culpeper County), 20 miles from where I hunt. There are CWD deniers in the hunting industry, but I am not one of them. The scientists and organizations I work with and believe in regard CWD as a real threat with the real potential to disrupt if not decimate deer populations and hunting in the future. Every year that I look at an updated CWD map, I see the expansion of the nasty disease, and we all must [...]

26 04, 2019

What Is The Lifespan of Whitetail Deer?

admin2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00April 26th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|3 Comments

Two of the most amazing facts from the 2018 deer season: A young hunter in Vermont shot a wild doe that, according to a tooth-wear analysis, was 20 years old! And another hunter in Vermont killed a 12-year-old buck! Which begs the question: How long do deer live? In captivity, whitetail does have been documented to live 18 to 25 years, and bucks 14 years. In the wild, where hunters consider a 5-year-old buck to be an old one, deer have the capability to live longer than you think. A doe in Louisiana was aged at 21 1/2 years. Recent data from Pennsylvania confirms 3 wild does to be at least 13.5 years old. Interestingly, other does from Vermont in [...]

23 04, 2019

Virginia: CWD Confirmed In Buck Shot In Culpeper County

admin2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00April 23rd, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|5 Comments

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) in my home state of Virginia has confirmed Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a buck legally harvested in Culpeper County during the November 2018 rut. CWD has been documented in northwest Virginia (Frederick and Shenandoah counties) for some 9 years, and we hunters in the Northern Piedmont have been holding our collective breath that it would not spread. But it has. The latest infected buck was killed in Culpeper County, 40 miles south of the original CWD zone. Officials discovered this CWD from a sample submitted by a local taxidermist in January 2019. At the time this deer was harvested, the hunter did not notice any outward signs of disease, and the [...]

1 04, 2019

2018 Pennsylvania Deer Harvest Highest In 14 Years…State “has never managed whitetails better.”

admin2020-06-10T09:15:20-04:00April 1st, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|1 Comment

From the York Dispatch: "The (Pennsylvania Game Commission) reported that a total of 374,690 deer were harvested during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons, which closed in January. "That total tops the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10 percent." The 2018 antlerless harvest of 226,940 was up about 10 percent over last year. Data show that most does—64%--killed by hunters were 2.5 years old, and the remainder were 1.5 years old. The 2018-19 buck kill of 147,750 was down 10% from the previous season. The commission says that steady, heavy rain during opening weekend of gun season was the biggest reason for the decline—it kept a lot of hunters out of the woods, and the bucks didn’t move well in [...]

18 03, 2019

How Will “Bomb Cyclone” and Snowmelt Flooding Affect Deer?

admin2020-06-10T09:15:25-04:00March 18th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on How Will “Bomb Cyclone” and Snowmelt Flooding Affect Deer?

The recent bomb cyclone combined with spring snowmelt has swelled some Midwest rivers to record levels and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes. The governors of Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have declared emergencies. Some of the water-logged areas are bracing for more rain this week. How will all this flooding affect whitetail deer in the region? Biologists say that rising floodwaters of river and creeks won’t kill many if any adult deer, though it will displace the animals for days and weeks. But the deer will eventually filter back into their habitats once the waters recede. Good news is that pregnant does will move out of rising water now and for the next few weeks. The primary concern for deer herds [...]