White-tailed deer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a medium-sized deer found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru.

The species is most common east of the American cordillera, and is absent from much of the western United States, including Nevada, Utah and California (though its close relatives, the mule deer and black-tailed deer, can be found there).

It does, however, survive in aspen parklands and deciduous river bottomlands within the Central and Northern Great Plains, and in mixed deciduous riparian corridors, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the Northern Rocky Mountain Regions from Wyoming to Southeastern British Columbia. The conversion of land adjacent to the Northern Rocky Mountains into agriculture use and partial clear-cutting of coniferous trees (resulting in widespread deciduous vegetation) is in favor of white-tailed deer in this region.

The westernmost population, the Columbian white-tailed deer once was widespread in the mixed forests along the Willamette River (Willamette Valley Forests Ecoregion) and Cowlitz River Valleys of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington (endangered).

There are also populations of Arizona (coues) and Carmen Mountains (carminis) white-tailed deer that inhabit the mountain mixed deciduous/pine forests of Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas extending southwards into Mexico.

As a result of introductions, white-tailed deer are found also in localised areas of northern Europe such as Finland.

White-tailed deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. Although most often thought of as forest animals depending on relatively small openings and edges, white-tailed deer can equally adapt themselves to life in more open savanna and even sage communities as in Texas and in the Venezuelan llanos region. These savanna adapted deer have relatively large antlers in proportion to their body size and large tails. Also, there is a noticeable difference in size between male and female deer of the savannas.

[edit] Description

The deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. The deer can be recognised by the characteristic white underside to its tail, which it shows as a signal of alarm by raising the tail during escape.

The male (also known as a buck) usually weighs from 130 to 220 pounds (60 to 100 kg) but, in rare cases, animals in excess of 350 pounds (160 kg) have been recorded. The female (doe) usually weighs from 90 to 130 pounds (40 to 60 kg), but some can weigh as much as 165 to 175 pounds (75 or 80 kg).

Males one year of age or older have antlers. Antlers begin to grow in early spring, covered with a highly vascularised tissue known as velvet. Bucks either have a typical or non-typical antler arrangement. Typical is when the antlers are symmetrical on both sides and the points grow straight up off the main beam. Non-typical is usually when the antlers are asymmetrical and the points are going in any direction off the main beam. A buck's inside spread can be any were from 3-25 inches (8-64 cm). Bucks shed their antlers when all females have been bred, from late December to February.

Females enter estrus, colloquially called the rut, in the fall, normally in late October or early November, triggered mainly by declining photoperiod. Sexual maturation of females depends on population density. Females can mature in their first year, although this is unusual and would occur only at very low population levels. Most females mature at one or, sometimes, two years of age.

Males compete for the opportunity of breeding females. Sparring among males determines a dominance hierarchy. Bucks will attempt to copulate with as many females as possible, losing physical condition since they rarely eat or rest during the rut. The general geographical trend is for the rut to be shorter in duration at increased latitude.

Females give birth to one, two or even possibly three spotted young, known as fawns in mid to late spring, generally in May or June. Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and will weigh from 44 to 77 pounds (20 to 35 kg) by the first winter. Male fawns tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females.

Whitetails communicate in many different way including sounds, scent, and marking. All whitetail deer are capable of producing audible noises, unique to each animal. Fawns release a high pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers. Does also bleat, as well as grunt. Grunting produces a low, guttorial sound that will attract the attention of any other deer in the area. Both does and bucks snort, a sound that often signals danger. As well as snorting, bucks also grunt at a pitch thats gets lower with maturity. Bucks are unique, however, in their grunt-snort-wheeze pattern that often shows aggression and hostility.

Whitetails possess many glands that allow them to produce scents, some of which are so potent they can be detected by the human nose. Three major glands are the orbital, tarsal, and metatarsal glands. Orbital glands are found on the head, and scent is deposited from them by rubbing the head, often the area around the eyes, on hanging twigs. The tarsal glands are found on the lower outside of each hind leg. Scent is deposited from these glands when deer walk through and rub against vegitation. The metatarsal glands, found on the inside "knee" of each hind leg, are the most potent.

During the breeding season, deer will rub-urinate, as process during which a deer sqats while urinating so that urine will run down the insides of the deer's legs. The deer then rubs its metatarsal glands together, rubbing the urine into the tuft of hair found at this location. Secretions from the metatarsal gland mix with the urine and bacteria to produce a strong smelling odor. Also in breeding season, does release hormones and pheremones that tell bucks the doe is in heat and able to breed.

Markings are a very obvious way that whitetail communicate. Although bucks do most of the marking, does visit these locations often. One form of marking is known as rubbing. To make a rub, a buck with use its antlers to strip the bark off of small diameter trees, helping to mark his territory and polish his antlers. Also to help mark territory, bucks will make scrapes. Often occurring in patterns known as scrape lines, scrapes are areas where a buck has used its front hooves to expose bare earth. Bucks usually then rub-urinate into these scrapes and scrapes are often found under twigs that have been marked with scent from orbital glands.

[edit] Range and population

Market gunning, unregulated hunting and poor land-use practices, including deforestation severely depressed deer populations in much of their range. For example, by about 1930, the U.S. population was thought to number about 300,000. After an outcry by hunters and other conservation ecologists, commercial exploitation of deer became illegal and conservation programs along with regulated hunting were introduced to solve the problem. Recent estimates put the deer population in the United States at around 30 million. These changes were so successful that, in some areas, deer populations are very high and the animal is considered a nuisance. Motor vehicle collisions with deer are a serious problem in many parts of the animal's range, especially at night and during rutting season, causing injuries and fatalities among both deer and humans. At high population densities, farmers can suffer economic damage by deer depredation of cash crops, especially in maize and orchards.

The species is the state animal of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, as well as the provincial animal of Saskatchewan. The profile of a White-tailed deer buck caps the Vermont coat-of-arms and can be seen in the Flag of Vermont and in stained glass at the Vermont State House. Texas is home to more white-tailed deer than any other U.S. state or Canadian province, with an estimated population over four million. High populations of white-tailed deer occur in the Edwards Plateau of Central Texas. Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania also boast high deer densities.

White-tailed deer were introduced to Finland in 1935. The introduction was successful, and the deer have recently begun spreading through northern Scandinavia and southern Karelia, competing with, and sometimes displacing, native fauna. The current population of some 30,000 deer originate from four animals provided by Finnish Americans from Minnesota.

In many states in the U.S. and in several Canadian provinces, hunting for white-tailed deer is deeply ingrained in local cultures and is central to the economy of many rural areas.

A sub-race of the white-tailed deer is white - not albino - in color. The former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, New York, has the largest known concentration of white deer. Strong conservation efforts have allowed white deer to thrive within the confines of the depot.

In the western portions of the United States and Canada, the white-tailed deer range overlaps with those of the black-tailed deer and mule deer. In the extreme north of the range, their habitat is also exploited by moose in some areas. White-tails may occur in areas that are also exploited by elk (wapiti) such as in mixed deciduous river valley bottomlands and formerly in the mixed deciduous forest of Eastern United States. In places such as Glacier National Park in Montana and several national parks in the Columbian Mountains (Mount Revelstoke National Park) and Canadian Rocky Mountains (i.e., Yoho National Park and Kootenay National Park), white-tailed deer are shy and more reclusive than the coexisting mule deer, elk, and moose.

[edit] Classification

Until recently, some taxonomists have attempted to separate white-tailed deer into a host of subspecies, based largely on morphological differences. Genetic studies, however, suggest that there are fewer subspecies within the animal's range as compared to the 30 to 40 subspecies that some scientists described in the last century. The Florida Key deer, O. virginianus clavium, and the Columbian white-tailed deer, O. virginianus leucurus are both listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The dominant subspecies across the deer's range is the Virginia white-tail, O. virginianus virginianus which is also the type species for the Odocoileus genus. White-tailed deer have tremendous genetic variation and are adaptable to several environments. Several local deer populations, especially in the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont Regions of Eastern United States are descended from white-tailed deer transplanted from other areas. Some of these deer may have been from northern mixed forests in the Great Lakes Region, or from more open savannas and riparian bottomlands in the midwest and Texas, yet are also quite at home in the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont Regions. These deer over time have intermixed with the local indigenous deer populations.

Central and South America have a complex number of white-tailed deer subspecies that range from southern Mexico as far south as Peru. This list of subspecies of deer is more exhaustive than the North American list of subspecies and is also questionable, but populations are difficult to study due to over-hunting in many parts and lack of protection. Some areas no longer carry deer, so it is difficult to assess the genetic difference of these animals. Central American white-tailed deer prefer tropical dry deciduous forests, seasonal mixed deciduous forests, and savanna habitats over dense rainforests and cloud forests.

South American subspecies of white-tailed deer live in two types of environment. The first environment is the savannas, dry deciduous forests, and riparian corridors of southern Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The other environment is the higher elevation mountain grassland/mixed forest ecozones in the Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia and Peru. The Andean white-tailed deer seem to retain gray coats due to the colder weather at high altitudes, whereas the lowland savanna forms retain the reddish brown coats. South American white-tailed deer, like those in Central America, generally avoid dense rainforests and cloud forests.

Perhaps the biggest overall genetic distinction is between North American white-tailed deer and the South American white-tailed deer.

Below is information on white-tailed deer classification and taxonomy, and some of the subspecies of white-tailed deer.

[edit] See also

• Deer

[edit] References

• Deer Specialist Group (1996). Odocoileus virginianus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Odocoileus virginianus (TSN 180699). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 March 2006.
• Geist, Dr. Valerius, "Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology", Stackpole Books, 1998
• Halls, Lowell K., White-tailed Deer Ecology and Management: A Wildlife Management Institute Book, Stackpole Books, 1984.
• Rue III, Leonard Lee, "Way of the Whitetail", Voyageur Press 2000 ISBN 0-89658-696

Compound Bow Buyer's Guide written by Tracy Breen With so many different types of bows on the market today, choosing the "right" one can be a difficult undertaking. This compound bow buyer's guide will help you wade through the options and simplify the process of buying a new bow.   Consider buying a ready-to-shoot bow package like this one from RedHead. Packages that include a sight, rest and quiver are less expensive than buying each item individually. Compound bow manufacturer's make significant technological strides every year, and a bow that was viewed as top-of-the-line only a few years ago is most likely viewed as a dinosaur today. Modern bows are lighter, faster and quieter than anyone would have thought possible only 5 years ago, and engineers at bow companies continue to push the engineering envelope each year with two goals in mind: producing bows that blow the socks off last years models and "wowing" bow buyers. As a result, consumers end up with amazing bows that increase accuracy. And as most experienced bowhunters will tell you, setting up a bow used to be an all-day project. Today's bows can be set up and throwing darts that are fast, accurate and deadly within a few short hours. The first thing to consider with new bows is accuracy. Most mid-priced bows have as many bells and whistles as their high-end cousins; they just cost less. In today's highly competitive bow market, poorly made bows don't survive. As you head to your favorite archery retailer to check out the latest and greatest archery gear, realize that the probability of finding a bow with everything you need in the price range you can afford is good. Accuracy is vital because -- regardless of how fast your bow is -- if you can't hit the broadside of a barn, you won't harvest anything. An accurate bow is one with a long brace height. Extremely fast bows usually have a brace height in the 6-inch range. If you are an accomplished archer, a 6-inch brace height may be all you need. If you are an average shooter, a longer brace height in the 7-inch range is a good choice. The longer the brace height, the more accurate and forgiving a bow will be. If you aren't as steady as you used to be or not as accurate as you would like to be, a long brace height is a must. Most competitive archers shoot bows with at least a 7-inch brace height. Some professional archers shoot bows with a brace height that is 8-inches or more. When choosing a bow, you need to know which features you need and which ones you can live without. Most hunters want a bow that is as quiet and shock-free as possible. A quiet bow makes harvesting game easier. Deer are notorious for jumping the string. Since bows are quieter and faster than they used to be, not as many deer know an arrow is coming until it is too late. A quiet, shock-free bow is a smooth-shooting bow. The smoother your bow shoots, the more accurate you will be. If you hunt out West, where packing a bow in on your back for miles each day makes every ounce count, having an extremely lightweight bow is very important. When shopping for a bow, consider purchasing a ready-to-shoot bow package with vibration-destroying contraptions already on it. Most bow companies offer bows that come complete with limb and string noise and vibration devices already installed. However, if you are on a tight budget, you can always purchase a less expensive bow and add aftermarket anti-vibration devices when you get extra cash. Companies like Limbsaver produce a wide variety of aftermarket products that can quiet a bow and reduce hand shock. These products can be purchased one at a time. The weight of the bow is another thing to consider. If you hunt out West, where packing a bow in on your back for miles each day makes every ounce count, having an extremely lightweight bow is very important. If most of your hunting is done in a treestand within a mile of your car, it isn't as important. Most bows weigh between 3.5 and 5.5 pounds. If you fall into the first category, it may be worth paying a few extra dollars for a lighter bow. If you fall into the second category, a heavier, less-expensive bow may be more of what you are looking for. Pay close attention to the type of cam system a bow has and consider what type of system you want to shoot. (This means you'll need to shoot a few for comparison.) A few years ago, the favorite among most bowhunters was the single-cam bow. Single-cam bows are usually easier to tune than other cam configurations and are just as fast too. In the last few years, cam-and-a-1/2 systems and binary cam systems have become very popular. All three options are fast and fairly easy to tune. Often the deciding factor will be which one feels best to you. The last thing to consider is speed. Speed is important, but unless I'm shooting at mule deer and antelope at long distances, where an extremely fast arrow can make the difference if I misjudge the distance to an animal, I don't pay much attention to the IBO speed of a bow. In a hunting situation, almost any bow with an arrow that isn't too heavy will put most big game animals down at forty yards or less. If you enjoy taking long shots, faster bows are available to accommodate your need for speed. Some bows can send arrows sailing at over 340 fps. If you like speed and have the money, you have plenty of options. Limbs on the Parker Legend are Xtreme Parallel, which creates a bow that delivers speeds up to 288 feet per second IBO without the hand shock and recoil you might expect. Bow limbs have changed considerably in recent years. Some companies continue to make their limbs out of aluminum. Recently, though, more companies started making their limbs out of composite material or carbon. All three options are excellent. Limbs rarely crack or break unless the bow is dry-fired or shot incorrectly. Split-limb bows are often lighter, but some solid bows are just as light, depending on what the limbs are made of. Another option is choosing a bow package. Some bow companies sell their bows with a sight, rest and quiver all ready to shoot at a price that is less expensive than if you bought each item individually. If you want to save a dollar or two, this is a great option. Below are three bows that are perfect for archers on a budget who are looking for a great shooting bow that is accurate, light and moderately fast. All three bows are available from Bass Pro Shops. Fred Bear Instinct Compound Bow The Bear Instinct is short and sweet. The most talked about feature of the Instinct is the price. At $399, it is one of the most reasonably priced bows on the market today. The compression-molded quad limbs of the Instinct are patented and unique to Bear Archery and said to be stronger than conventional limbs. Other features include a perimeter-weighted single cam, handsome wood grips and Sims Factory-installed dampeners and string leaches. It doesn't stop there. The bow has pivoting limb pockets that ensure a secure connection between the limbs and the riser. The treestand-friendly bow is only 30 inches, axle to axle. It weighs 4.1 pounds. It is available in draw weights from 50-70 pounds and draw lengths from 23-30 inches. The Instinct is available in Realtree Hardwoods Green. I like the length of the bow. After holding it in my hands, I realized it would make a nice bow for whitetails. It would be a nice bow to take out West to pack in on your back too. Parker Legend XP Compound Bow   Parker offers an assortment of bows with a variety of options for archers on a budget. One such bow is the Legend XP. At $499, it is a lot of bow for the money. XP stands for Xtreme Parallel. The limbs on the Legend are Xtreme Parallel, which according to the folks at Parker, creates a bow that delivers speeds up to 288 feet per second IBO, but doesn't have near the hand shock and recoil you would expect. The parallel limbs help cancel out vibration, which reduces bow vibration noise. The riser of the Legend was reportedly created to be in perfect alignment with the arrow rest and sight pins, making tuning the bow quick and easy. At the heart of the Legend is the smooth-drawing EZ cam. Within the cam and idler wheels are sealed ball bearings that reduce wear and cam lean. The Legend is 30-1/2 inches axle to axle, has a generous 8-inch brace height and weighs only 3-1/2 pounds. The Legend is available in draw weights from 50-70 pounds and draw lengths from 26-31 inches. Bows purchased with a 28-inch draw come with a 27-inch module. The 29-inch draw comes with a 30-inch module, giving bowhunters some wiggle room. The Legend is available in Mossy Oak New Breakup. The Reflex Growler comes with Rizer Shox, String Shox and Alpha Shox in the limbs, creating a bow that is both fast and quiet. Reflex Growler Compound Bow   Another great bow for bowhunters looking for speed without the hefty price tag is the Reflex Growler. At $449, this bow is within every bowhunters' budget. The Growler has many of the same features that have made the Hoyt line so popular over the years, such as parallel split limbs. Reflex completely redesigned the way the riser attaches to the limbs in 2007. The new Pro-Link Pocket system links the limb to the riser with zero tolerance. The result is a bow that is extremely accurate and durable. The bow comes with Rizer Shox, String Shox and Alpha Shox in the limbs, creating a bow that is fast and quiet. The riser is made from lightweight alloy, making the Growler the lightest bow in the Reflex lineup for 2007. The Growler is 32 inches axle to axle and has a 7-1/4-inch brace height. It weighs 4.4 pounds and delivers an arrow at over 303 feet per second IBO. The engine behind the Growler is the new FX cam-and-a-1/2 system, which promises to deliver a fast arrow without the tuning problems often associated with dual-cam bows. The Growler is available in 50-70 pounds and draw lengths between 25-30 inches. The Growler is available in Realtree APG. Shooting the Growler was fun and I was extremely happy with how quiet the bow was. It is easy to see why they deck out the bow in Sims vibration add-on items. The amount of archery equipment, accessories and technical info can boggle the mind of novice bow-hunters. I hope this guide has helped shed light on some of your options and helps you during you bow-buying quest.

Tips from a taxidermist I saw on TV who covered this subject.

- Put skull in a pot with water and baking soda, bring to NEAR  boiling point and leave at a simmer.  

----------------------------

- Decrease in a tub with Dawn dish for two weeks.

-----------------------------

Maceration - Rot it in a bucket with water and leave it outside.

------------------------------

Whitening Method
Painting
- creme peroxide ( 40 volume pint bottle - get this at a hair salon. )
- use " Quick White ", same die that a salon uses to die hair.
- let dry.
- then rinse it off.

-----------------------------

Final Step - Sealing Skulls

- Use a non-yellowing sealer such as Krylon in a spray can.

in a - clear glaze
       - satin finish
       - mat finish

Home

Forum

Trail Cam Pics

NEW ! 2008 Trail Cam Pics

Full Moon Deer Activity

Deer Hunting Tips

Trophy Buck

Articles

Scent Elimination

Deer Hunting Journal-07

Shed Hunting Tips

Deer News

Deer Management

Hunters Marketplace

My First Deer Gallery

Deer Rubs

Deer Videos - UPDATED

Crossbow Hunting

Deer Science

Camping

Tracers Hunting Zone

Links

Guest Book