Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama
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ment. A hungry deer will move to find food. <strong>Deer</strong> may be seen out<br />
foraging for food at all times of the day and night in heavily overpopulated<br />
areas. <strong>Deer</strong> movement is increased due to increased travel time<br />
between cover and feeding areas in habitats where cover and forage<br />
areas are poorly interspersed.<br />
HOME RANGE SIZE<br />
The total amount of space a deer occupies during most of its life<br />
is termed its home range. A deer will conduct its normal activities such<br />
as feeding, breeding, and caring for fawns within this home range.<br />
Adequate home range is large enough to provide the basic essentials for<br />
life and reproduction, yet small enough to allow the deer a survival<br />
advantage through familiarity with the range.<br />
Does typically have much smaller home ranges than bucks.<br />
Studies in the Southeast have reported home range sizes of 300 to 600<br />
acres for does; home range sizes for bucks have been reported at two to<br />
four times that size (Demarais and Strickland 1999). One reason for<br />
larger home range sizes in bucks is to accommodate breeding concerns.<br />
A buck with a home range encompassing multiple doe home ranges<br />
increases his chances for mating success.<br />
DISPERSAL<br />
Dispersal can be defined as the movement away from a deer’s<br />
original home range and the establishment of a new and permanent<br />
home range. The original home range is typically the area in which a<br />
particular deer was born. Reasons for dispersal are varied. For the<br />
most part, dispersal is in response to social pressures within a deer<br />
herd and is not correlated with a lack of food. Several studies through-<br />
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