Deer Science Archives - Page 29 of 43

6 07, 2015

Virginia Bans Deer Urine For 2015 Hunt Season

admin2020-06-10T09:19:36-04:00July 6th, 2015|BigDeer, Deer Science, Hunting News|22 Comments

We’ve talked a lot about EHD (commonly known as blue tongue)but now another ugly deer disease, chronic wasting (CWD), is taking center stage. CWD is a contagious and progressive neurological disease that causes degeneration of the brain of infected animals, resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior and ultimately death. CWD has been around for decades in the West. It was found east of the Mississippi in Wisconsin in 2002, and since then has been documented in 8 eastern states, including Virginia. Since 2009, there have been 7 documented cases of CWD in Virginia, all confined to private land in Frederick County along the West Virginia border. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) has spent more than 1 million dollars [...]

2 06, 2015

Deer Science: Bucks With 3 Beams

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00June 2nd, 2015|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|3 Comments

Check out the 3rd beam on the left side of this rack, what caused it? A 3rd beam on a whitetail deer’s rack is the result of either non-typical genetics or an injury. If this buck were 5 years of age or older, I’d say the cause was genetics. But he’s younger than that, so the extra beam is likely the result of an injury. QDMA biologist Kip Adams agrees: “That buck injured his antler very early in the growing process that year. If the buck would have survived the season he would not have had a third beam again the following year.” I’ve never shot a buck with 3 beams, have you? Send me a picture.

28 05, 2015

Deer Research: How Bucks Travel

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00May 28th, 2015|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

Ran across a fascinating whitetail study conducted in Oklahoma. Researchers fitted bucks with GPS collars and monitored their movements using a technique called “fractal dimension,” which describes the complexity (crisscross paths) and linearity (more straight lines) of the travels used by deer at various times of the season. The scientists found that in early fall (and again later in the post-rut), bucks stick to relatively small core areas and have complex, localized mazes of movement, which are the result of many short-distance trips during which the deer frequently circle, backtrack and change directions as they move from feed to bed (above left). But come the seeking days of the rut--beginning in late October and running through mid-November--many of those same bucks show less [...]

27 05, 2015

Kansas: Rare 8-Point Doe!

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00May 27th, 2015|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|2 Comments

On opening day of the 2014 Kansas gun season Chuck Rorie saw a nice rack. “I didn’t think much about it; it just looked like a nice buck when I was watching it and I shot it,” Rorie told the Wichita Eagle. “But when I was skinning it I realized something didn’t look right,” said Chuck. “It didn’t have the right private parts.” How rare is an antlered doe like the one Chuck shot last season? Research on the topic is thin, but some biologists have said only 1 in 6,000 does will have antlers. And Dr. Grant Woods, one of the top whitetail scientists in the world, says that number could be as high as 1 in 10,000. Keith [...]

18 05, 2015

Deer Science: How Does Have Fawns

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00May 18th, 2015|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|2 Comments

According to a fascinating and ongoing whitetail project conducted by researchers at Penn State, discretion and secrecy are top priorities to a doe about to give birth in May or June. Does split up and avoid contact with other does of their social group. A young doe that will give birth for the first time will seek out a secluded fawning site outside of her core area. An older doe will usually return to the same fawning spot each year to give birth. Most yearling does generally give birth to a single fawn. Twins are common among adult does. The researchers point out that in Pennsylvania where this project is happening, 80% of pregnant yearling does have single fawns; 74% of does 3 years [...]