Deer Science Archives - Page 19 of 44

27 06, 2018

Whitetail Science: Young Bucks Breed 30% Of Does

admin2020-06-10T09:15:52-04:00June 27th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|3 Comments

For many years biologists and hunters believed that most adult does were bred by bucks 3.5 years and older, a theory I always questioned. In many areas of the U.S., deer herds are overloaded with does, and there are relatively mature bucks 4.5 years and older. So in peak rut, when many does come into estrus at one time, which bucks are actually doing the breeding? According to research published in the Journal of Mammalogy, immature bucks (1.5 and 2.5 years of age) are breeding does at a much higher rate than once thought. In one study, researchers analyzed the DNA samples of more than 1,200 whitetails in 3 different populations (Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma) and found that young bucks [...]

16 05, 2018

Future Of Deer Hunting: USDA TO Revise Standards for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

admin2020-06-10T09:15:53-04:00May 16th, 2018|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|Comments Off on Future Of Deer Hunting: USDA TO Revise Standards for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

As I’ve said on the Blog and on BIG DEER TV, CWD is the biggest issue and threat that we've faced in the last 50 years, and maybe ever. We need to stay on top of this and learn all we can about this disease. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is currently revising their standards for CWD, and they need to hear from deer hunters from across the country. To that end, TRCP put out this message which I wholeheartedly agree with and support: Deer hunting is the single most popular form of hunting in the United States, with 9.2 million Americans participating each year, [...]

14 05, 2018

Minn: Rare Two-Headed Fawn

admin2020-06-10T09:15:53-04:00May 14th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on Minn: Rare Two-Headed Fawn

From Fox News: A mushroom hunter's discovery of a conjoined white-tailed fawn in a Minnesota forest two years ago is being hailed by researchers as a landmark case among oddities in nature. The fawns, which were stillborn, are believed to have been the first recorded case of a conjoined two-headed deer to have reached full term and born by their mother, according to a study recently published in the science journal American Midland Naturalist. "It’s never been described before," Lou Cornicelli, co-author of the study and a wildlife research manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told FOX9. "There are a few reported cases of two-headed ungulate fetuses, but nothing delivered to term. So, the uniqueness made it special." [...]

20 04, 2018

Spring: Deer Antler Growth Cycle

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00April 20th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|1 Comment

This graphic from the Mississippi State Deer Lab shows the entire antler growth cycle…here we focus on spring growth, what is happening right now: New antler growth resumes about 3 weeks after (old) antler drop, on a scab that has formed over the pedicles. A growing antler is covered with velvet and grows from the tip. Antler growth is slow during April-May and becomes more rapid during June-July, especially in older bucks.

29 03, 2018

Weird: When Legs Grow Out A Deer’s Body!

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 29th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on Weird: When Legs Grow Out A Deer’s Body!

A guy emailed this picture of a deer with legs growing and flopping out its back. Don’t know when or where it was shot. I’ve seen it before, so it was a few years ago. Photoshop? Looks legit to me. From the scant research I could find on this type of genetic abnormality, scientists say on the very rare occasion when legs grow out of a deer's body, they were likely those of a twin that didn’t form all the way. According to this QDMA post this is most likely a case of a “parasitic twin.” Twin fawns probably began to develop inside a doe, but the twin embryos did not completely separate and one of them stopped developing normally. [...]