White-tailed Deer Food Habits and Preferences in the Cross Timbers

high white-tailed deer populations ultimately
will decline.
Annual rainfall also directly influences range
conditions and, thus, grazing pressure by
domestic livestock. Unless landowners and
managers adjust stocking rates or grazing
intensity on rangelands during droughts, whitetailed
deer populations suffer. Competition
between livestock and white-tailed deer for
available forage will occur as food and cover
resources diminish. During periods of drought,
increased consumption of browse by livestock
may reduce the availability of important
seasonal forage for white-tailed deer.
The impoundment of water for domestic livestock
has produced one of the most important
changes to the landscape of the Cross Timbers
and Prairies Region and has increased the
potential of the land to sustain populations of
white-tailed deer and other wildlife species.
The countless number of lakes, small ponds
and stock tanks constructed as water sources
for domestic livestock in the Cross Timbers and
Prairies Region also serve as important seasonal
sources of water for white-tailed deer and
other wildlife species. However, the availability
of water depends on runoff of surface water
from heavy rainfall events. With the exception
of the major rivers that cross the region, most
streams in the Cross Timbers and Prairies
Region are intermittent and do not provide
reliable surface water. During years of below
average rainfall, many water sources become
dry, directly affecting white-tailed deer and
other wildlife species.
Extremes in temperature and rainfall patterns
affect white-tailed deer habitat and cannot be
controlled by land managers, only anticipated.
They will occur in the Cross Timbers and
Prairies Region of Texas as they have for eons.
Land managers should consider the likelihood
that these events will occur and make appropriate
decisions during the initial planning
stages of white-tailed deer habitat and population
management strategies.
The countless number of lakes, small ponds and stock tanks constructed as water sources for domestic
livestock in the Cross Timbers and Prairies Region also serve as important seasonal sources of water for
white-tailed deer and other wildlife species.
TPWD stock photo
8
THE CROSS TIMBERS AND PRAIRIES REGION