Vol.11, No. 2) Winter 2000 on TRACKS (Deer in Kansas
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Vol.11, No. 2 Kansas Wildlife and Parks Winter 2000 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 side ... 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 In 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012Coming this 1 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Whitetail Whereabouts 2 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ What Deer Eat in Kansas 3 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012spring: 1 Deer History 101 ○ ○ ○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○4 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 ○○○○○○○○○○○○ Antler Formation ○○○○○○○○○ 5 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 The Exceptional Kansas Deer Herd ○○○○○○○○○5 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012WATER WE 1 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Deer Management 6 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 When Bumper Meets Deer ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○9 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 ○ ○○○○○○○○ Oh Deer, What Can the Matter Be? 10 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012HAVE 1 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 Diseases of Deer ○ ○ ○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○12 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 ○○○○○○ Deer Management Activity ○○○○○○○○○ 13 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012HERE? 1 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 We Want To Hear From You! ○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○17 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 What's Happening? ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○18 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 Whitetail Whereabouts The whitetail deer has generated vast Distribution and Habitat numbers of scientific studies, precipitated The whitetail inhabits most of the U.S. many bitter debates, triggered departmental and southern Canada, and occurs south reorganizations, and has even been in the through Central America to the northern parts political arena of state legislators. Volumes of South America. Their preferred habitat is have been written on deer biology and count- that of field and forest edges, woodlands, and less sporting journals tell how to hunt the wooded banks of rivers and streams. Kansas animal. It is undoubtedly the most abundant deer habitat is a constantly changing array of hoofed mammal in North America, so why are woody, grassland, and agricultural vegetative we dedicating an issue of On TRACKS to it? communities whose ability to support deer We hope that we can provide a greater under- fluctuates with season, climatic conditions, standing of the situation in Kansas and give intensity of land use, cropping patterns, and educators a better background for dealing degree of human disturbance. Diversity in with the complexities of the situation. We also plant species and density, as well as canopy hope to stimulate critical thinking in young coverage, is the key to prime whitetail cover. minds about this many-sided issue. Food Habits Description One of the main reasons for the prefer- The whitetailed deer is so well known ence of field and forest edges, is the greatest that it probably needs little description. variety of foods desired by deer grows best Whitetail are stately, graceful animals charac- along the margins of timbered areas or in terized by long legs, pointed hooves, reddish- clearings in the timber. Except during the brown (in summer) to grayish-brown (in summer months, agricultural crops make up winter) coat, a relatively long tail that is 50% to 60% of the whitetail deer diet in Kan- brown above but white underneath (hence the sas. Woody plants provide 30% to 40% of the name "whitetail"), white undersides, and the forage during all seasons of the year. Summer presence of antlers during part of the year in diets are composed of nearly 50% forbs, 30% males (bucks). Whitetail antlers typically woody material, and 10% to 15% farm crops. consist of one main beam out of which the Grasses comprise the smallest portion of the tines (normally unbranched) emerge one at a diet. The daily forage intake for a deer is about time. It is not possible to tell the age of a buck 3% of its live weight. Deer have a daily water by the size of the antlers or the number of requirement of about 1 1/2 quarts per 100 points. The size and shape of antlers depend pounds body weight in summer. Deer will eat on nutrition, age and heredity. snow or lick ice if all the open water is frozen. Most people believe deer to be much larger than they really are. An adult whitetail buck will rarely stand over waist-high to the average man and the belly may only be a mere 23 inches from the ground. The average weight is between 100 to 300 lbs, however, a Kansas buck that dresses over 250 pounds is big. (A hunter in Iowa downed a monster whitetail in 1962 that weighed 440 pounds!) Among deer of similar ages, females average lighter in weight than males. On TRACKS 2 Reproduction 3 and 5 months. By fall, the doe and fawns The peak of the mating season, also are nearly always seen together, and most of called the rut, is in November but mating can the family groups remain together until the successfully occur from September to Febru- following fawning season. ary. Shortening day length and reduced light intensity in the fall trigger sexual activity in Life Span bucks as well as does. Females are receptive for about 24 hours while in "estrus" but will The prime of life for a whitetail is be- cycle again every 28 days until breeding tween the ages of 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years. Captive occurs. Whitetails are polygamous with the deer have been known to live up to 25 years. males wandering extensively in pursuit of However, the life span of a deer in the wild is does in heat. Typically, a mature buck may about half that of a captive animal. Rarely do breed with many does during the rut. In wild deer reach 12 years of age--whether they Kansas, 50% of all whitetail doe fawns breed are hunted or not. before they're a year old. About 95% of the whitetail does breed as yearlings. Healthy WHAT DEER EAT IN KANSAS females frequently have twins, and triplets are not uncommon. Spring foods Summer foods Alfalfa