23 05, 2023

How Many Spots Do Fawns Have?

2023-05-23T10:59:26-04:00May 23rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How Many Spots Do Fawns Have?

Every whitetail fawn born now through July will have on average 272 to 342 white spots on their reddish coats. Each spot ranges in size from 0.24 to 0.51 inches in diameter. Yes, some unknown biologist actually counted and measured the spots and documented them! According to Penn State biologists, spot patterns are unique to every fawn as to the exact number of spots, their size, and how they are dispersed on a baby deer’s reddish coat. The spots serve as critical camouflage for fawns during their first weeks and months of life. At birth, fawns are scentless. Their spotted coats blend with the filtered light in the woods or in a field, helping to hide the little deer from [...]

3 05, 2023

Are Coyotes Killing “Doomed Surplus” of Deer Fawns?

2023-05-03T08:17:15-04:00May 3rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Are Coyotes Killing “Doomed Surplus” of Deer Fawns?

In the springs of 2016 and 2017, Justin Dion and his fellow researchers at the University of Delaware captured and collared 109 newborn fawns in Sussex County in the southern portion of the state. The study area had about 50 deer per square mile, but a noticeable lack of predators. No confirmed sightings of bobcats and no bears. Only 9 coyotes had ever been reported harvested statewide in Delaware at the time of the project. Each of the 109 collared fawns was monitored daily. When a fawn died, the researchers investigated the scene, collected data and sent the carcass to a veterinarian for necropsy. After crunching the numbers, Dion and crew reported that only 49 of the 109 fawns they [...]

28 04, 2023

Do Floods Harm Deer?

2023-04-28T14:51:14-04:00April 28th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on Do Floods Harm Deer?

Huge rain and flash flooding here in Virginia this weekend, and it’s moving up the East Coast. Later this spring there will be some flooding in the Midwest and South, as happens every year. How will all this water affect the deer? Biologists say that rising floodwaters of river and creeks won’t kill many if any adult deer, though it will displace animals for days and perhaps weeks. But the deer will eventually filter back into their habitats once the waters recede. While pregnant does will simply move out of rising water now and for the next few weeks, the primary concern for deer herds in and around flood zones occurs later on in May and June, when the does [...]

24 04, 2023

Louisiana’s “Blue Deer”

2023-04-24T08:12:23-04:00April 24th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CZ-USA, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, trijicon, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Louisiana’s “Blue Deer”

Before Louisiana was colonized by the French in 1803, the area's whitetail population was about 400,000. As the 19th century wore on, market hunting and the damaging effects of large-scale timber cutting reduced the herds. Hunting laws and bag limits were too liberal or not enforced, and deer numbers fell dramatically. During the early 1900s, Louisiana’s deer population had dropped to about 20,000 animals. But during the tough times, some does and bucks survived in the deep swamps and thickets. As deforested habitats grew into second-growth timber, the whitetail population began to recover. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries began managing the herds in the late 1940s. Officials set seasons and bag limits. By the early 1950s, managers had [...]

20 04, 2023

Deer Science: Why Bucks Vanish from Your Trail Camera

2023-04-20T09:01:50-04:00April 20th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Deer Science: Why Bucks Vanish from Your Trail Camera

Researchers at Mississippi State’s Deer Lab analyzed the movements of 30 GPS-collared adult bucks, and found that 20 of them, or 68%, were “sedentary” and confined their movements to a single home range. The other 10 bucks were more adventurous and mobile, moving back and forth between multiple home range sites and core areas from summer to fall and winter. These mobile bucks traveled an average distance of 4.4 miles between their seasonal living areas. The takeaway: When a mature buck you have on camera in September or October suddenly goes missing for weeks or a month, chances are he’s one of those mobile bucks that has moved a mile or 2 or 3 to another section of his home [...]

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