Here is another fascinating video from Deer and Deer Hunting that I would like to share. Deer vision has and is important to all of us as hunters because of their keen sense of vision we need to be cautious on our movement as well as what we wear during hunting.

By: Rick Kratzke

In this Deer & Deer Hunting exclusive online video, host Charlie Alsheimer discusses why a whitetail’s eyeballs are so hard to fool.

click on picture for video or click on watch video:

This video from Deer and Deer Hunting TV is very informative. I do believe myself that deer will remember where danger is or was. I believe that they will remember where the best acorns were and were the best bedding was and so on. The whitetail deer was for the lack of a better term built to adapt and overcome.

By: Rick Kratzke

Do deer possess a “sixth sense,” a really good memory — or both? Watch the D&DH staff dissect this question in a new online video segment. Their insights will help you get close to more deer this hunting season.

Click on picture or click on Watch Video:

This is the time of year that we all need to be careful as we drive around, especially on the back roads. The whitetails doe’s that were bred this past autumn will be and are giving birth to their fawns. You never know when you will come across one of these little tikes that have no clue yet of what is out there in the world and even more what a vehicle is. Just the other day I had one dart out in front of my truck with momma deer standing on the side of the road waiting for me to go by. Fortuneately I was paying attention.

I found a very interesting article about the Whitetail Fawn, so I wanted to share some of it with you and invite you to read the rest of it by visiting the Buckmasters website afterwards.

By: Rick Kratzke

Text & Photos by Tommy Kirkland

Each year throughout North America from late May and on into July, deer fawns are springing up. If undisturbed, a fawn or fawns’ birth site is instinctively chosen by its mother. At times, these birthing areas are utilized by parenting females year after year. Generally, the doe, particularly older females, seek out the best habitat available for the birthing process. The area is usually some 20 to 30 acres with water, concealment and quality nutrition.

Just prior to giving birth, the impregnated female separates herself from the other deer, including her own if she isn’t a first-time mother. If no complications arise during birth, then her maternal nature is in full swing by now.

With the condition that the female doesn’t abandon the newborn infant, then she is quick to consume the afterbirth. She will also intensely groom the little deer - removing all blood and remains from giving birth. This activity minimizes odors that can attract predators as well as insects.

Newborn whitetails rely on their instinct to remain motionless and quiet for survival. However, fawns born in food plots and working agricultural fields are more vulnerable to roaming predators in comparison to fawns born in underbrush or forested areas simply because they are easier to spot where the land is maintained for nutrition.

Read the complete article:

This brief letter you are about to read was mailed to Dan Schmidt at “Deer and Deer Hunting” with a couple of photo’s. It is of a drop tined buck. The deer is a real nice example of a drop tine rack it the writer poses a very interesting question. I just wanted to share the pictures and say that I agree with Mr. Schmidt on his responce.

By: Rick Kratzke

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D&DH reader Dan Steyskal sent us these awesome scouting camera photos of a drop tine buck.

Writes Dan:

Here are some pics of a deer that I have pics of from the last two years. As you can see he has four nice drop tines. The year before he had a drop tine on each side. Will he continue to grow drop tines in the future? This deer survived all the hunting seasons so hopefully I can get some pics of him in velvet this year which I havent been able to do yet.

Dan Steyskal
Nebraska

Deer & Deer Hunting’s Editor, Dan Schmidt Responds:

Drop tines are mostly genetic, and, for the most part, they will come back year after year. In the case of more than one drop tine, the buck typically adds more junk to his rack in the form of other sticker points, etc., with age. However, that is not always the case with drop tines. In rare cases, a drop tine will disappear for a year or more (due to stress, nutrition etc.) and sometimes won’t come back at all. Each buck is different.

Thanks for sharing your photos with us!

Dan Schmidt

I just want to mention and give all credit of this information to Dan Schmidt of Deer and Deer Hunting’s “Rub Line Blog” - By: Rick Kratzke

This is very good news because Pennsylvania is really not that far from Connecticut where I am from. Not that CWD is ok else where because it is not, I’m just happy it hasn’t moved up this way. CWD can be very bad to the deer population and I would truly hate to see it first hand.

By: Rick Kratzke

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was not detected in samples taken from hunter-killed deer during the states 2007 hunting season, according to Dr. Walt Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian.

In 2007, 3,800 samples from hunter-killed deer were tested, and CWD was not detected. This marked the fifth year for testing hunter-killed deer. In total, nearly 18,100 deer have been tested. CWD was not detected in any samples from previous years.

Results showing that the CWD tests of hunter-killed elk from 2007 were all negative were announced on Feb. 13.

We are pleased to report that Pennsylvania continues to have no confirmed or suspected cases of CWD in wild deer or elk, Cottrell said. By conducting these tests from a random sample of hunter-killed deer and on all hunter-killed elk, we help to assure ourselves and the general public that it is unlikely that CWD is present in wild deer and elk in the state.

The CWD tests on deer and elk samples were conducted by the New Bolton Center, which is the University of Pennsylvanias veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Under a contract with Penn State University, the elk samples also were tested for brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis and found to be free of those diseases.

Costs for CWD surveillance are offset by a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Heads from hunter-killed deer were collected from deer processors by deer aging teams during the two-week rifle deer season. Specific tissues were collected from these heads at Game Commission region offices by agency personnel and Pennsylvania and U.S. departments of agriculture animal health officials.

The test results are good news, Cottrell said. Although CWD has not been found in Pennsylvania, we must continue to be vigilant in our CWD monitoring efforts. The surveillance work we are doing is important for the early detection of CWD. Lets not forget that CWD has been found in New York and only 26 miles from our states border in West Virginia.

We already are planning to continue random testing of hunter-killed deer and elk during the 2008-09 seasons, and we are pleased that the Pennsylvania and U.S. departments of agriculture will continue to play an important role in this disease surveillance program.

First identified in 1967, CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects cervids, including all species of deer and elk. It is a progressive and always fatal disease, which scientists theorize is caused by an agent called a prion that is capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form and, in turn, destroying brain cells.

There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, and there is no vaccine to prevent an animal from contracting the disease, nor is there a cure for animals that become infected. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death. There is no evidence of CWD being transmissible to humans or to other non-cervid livestock under normal conditions.

Deer harboring CWD may not show any symptoms in the diseases early stages. As it progresses, infected animals become emaciated and their hair has a disheveled appearance. Drooling is sometimes apparent. Because they are weakened, they also may use an exaggerated wide stance to stay standing.

Anyone who sees deer behaving oddly, that appear to be very sick, or that are dying for unknown reasons are urged to contact the nearest Game Commission Region Office. Hunters should not harvest deer that appear ill.

Were counting on Pennsylvanians to be our eyes when they head a field this summer to enjoy nature, Cottrell said. With their help, we can cover a lot of ground.

All outdoor recreation lists should always be mindful of wildlife health issues, but now more than ever. And we must keep the threat posed by CWD in perspective. As potentially devastating as it could be should it show up, at this point, we have no evidence that CWD is in Pennsylvania.

For more information on CWD, visit the Game Commissions website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on Wildlife in the left-hand column, then scroll down and choose Chronic Wasting Disease in the Wildlife Disease section. Additional information on CWD can be found on the CWD Alliances website (www.cwd-info.org).

Aaron Houston for The New York Times

A deer freezes in the spotlight during a count conducted at South Mountain Reservation.

DARKNESS was falling and people were settling down in their homes for the night when Susan Predl, who was just starting her workday, drove her van into the wilds of the South Mountain Reservation here.

In the van were an assistant, Amy Schweitzer, and some important tools — two powerful spotlights, a laser range finder and a notebook for jotting down observations. Ms. Predl, a senior biologist with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, was about to count deer.

The 2,047-acre reservation, spread through Millburn, Maplewood and West Orange and owned by Essex County, had been overrun by deer for years. Last year the county authorized its first hunt organized to cull the herd, and over nine days in January and February sharpshooters stationed in trees killed 213 deer. The controlled hunt in this densely populated area has spurred controversy among residents and people who consider hunting cruel, who have urged the county to find other ways to control the deer population.

But now, weeks later, in the relative calm after the hunts, it was Ms. Predl’s task to estimate the number of deer remaining and help the county formulate plans for next year.

This was actually her seventh run this season at formulating a census, using a method called distance sampling. During six previous trips, Ms. Predl and an assistant had scanned the woods with spotlights and spotted from 19 to 40 deer, at various distances from the van. Feeding the numbers into a software program, Ms. Predl calculated the reservation’s current deer density at 29 to 35 deer a square mile. The night’s results would prove comparable, showing that the South Mountain Reservation still had too many deer. And this was taken a month before the surviving females would start giving birth.

Ms. Predl’s rides through the quiet reservation — off limits to humans after dusk — provided a quiet counterpoint to the noise of the protests and hunts.

For years, anti-hunt forces staged demonstrations urging officials to find nonlethal alternatives to thinning the population. Sometimes, they hired lawyers to make their point. The county listened and experimented with a number of costly options, including an effort to trap the animals and ship them out of state.

One such project involved sending the deer to a farm in upstate New York, but the “farm” turned out to be a slaughterhouse, and embarrassed officials halted transports. The deer, meanwhile, multiplied, in this, one of the last open areas of a congested county.

In September 2007 Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., the county executive, finally announced there would be a hunt. “I don’t like hunting at all, but in this situation there’s no alternative,” he said. Protesters demonstrated on Northfield Avenue in West Orange, holding signs saying, “Please don’t turn South Mountain into the killing fields.” But when the hunt actually started on Jan. 29, it drew only a handful of demonstrators.

“It’s a tough emotional issue, but the majority of people realize something has to be done,” Ms. Predl said before starting her final inspection trip. “I think what helped Millburn officials make their decision was a woman suffering terribly from Lyme disease.” The disease is caused by bacteria that are spread by tiny, infected deer ticks.

Counting deer is an imprecise science, and yet so much rides on the results, namely whether and where the county authorizes future hunts. On April 2, Essex County conducted an aerial survey by a helicopter with thermal infrared sensors. That method is expensive, but some believe it yields the most accurate count.

Ms. Predl isn’t sure. “There really isn’t a preferred method of estimating the deer populations out there,” she said.

By day New Jersey’s white-tailed deer are nearly impossible to spot, given their excellent camouflage of brown and gray. At night though, caught in the glare of a three-million-candlepower spotlight in a forest still bare of leaves, it’s a different story.

“When you shine the spotlights, their eyes almost glow back,” said Ms. Predl, a 25-year veteran of the Fish and Wildlife Division. “In the dark you’ll see pairs of eyes looking back at you. Up here, besides the deer, we’ve seen a lot of raccoons and red fox here. One night I think I saw a coyote and a screech owl. Each animal has eyes that glow a slightly different color. It’s kind of amazing and fun.”

For two-and-a-half hours she drove the van through the deserted park at about 10 miles per hour, holding a spotlight out the driver’s window with her left hand and steering with her right. Ms. Schweitzer, a state wildlife technician, held the second spotlight out the passenger-side window.

“There’s our first Bambi, no, wait, there are three of them,” said Ms. Schweitzer, picking up the greenish glow of three pairs of eyes 60 yards away.

So it went, over rutted roads near long-neglected picnic groves and campgrounds, and on busy perimeter roads like South Orange Avenue. There, as speeding cars and a New Jersey Transit bus whooshed by, Ms. Predl put on her hazard lights and drove while Ms. Schweitzer peered into the woods. The van posed a strange sight. Some drivers slowed down to gawk. “Are you all right?” one asked.

At the end of the night Ms. Predl headed for home, in Warren County, eager to tabulate her findings.

Essex County officials plan another hunt, and have embarked on a program to restore South Mountain’s ravaged understory with plants and build “deer exclusion areas.”

The reservation will never be entirely clear of deer, nor should it be, said Dan Bernier, a Union County parks official who is a consultant for Essex. Union County has used hunts to thin deer from its largest park, the Watchung Reservation, since 1999 and estimates it now has 20 deer a square mile, close to the ideal number, he said.

“You know you’re where you want to be, when you get it down to a point where people can grow tulips and tomato plants, and you don’t end up with a lot of deer carcasses on the road,” Mr. Bernier said. “We’re also seeing the beginnings of a recovery in the reservation. Shrubs have begun to leaf out in the area four feet or lower from the ground.”

I just had to share this. I saw it on “CTHunting n Shooting” Forum which I am a Moderator for. This was a very bad shot by someone with a Bow & Arrow and fortunately for the buck he had recovered from the injury without any visible injuries. It was discovered after the buck was harvested on December 30, 2007 Jay Trudell of Wisconsin.

The hide was completely healed and did not give away that there was an injury. The threaded portion of the head had snapped off. The Taxidermist had found it when he was capping the antlers for mounting.

This just goes to show that the Whitetail Buck can and does endure a lot. They are very tough and can with stand quite a bit. It is kind of ironic to survive a broadhead injury such as this only to be harvested from the same type of weapon later on.

Here are the basic facts about the Whitetail Deer that I found on the Connecticut DEP website. I do realize that most of us already know about most of this information but, this is for the ones who see this and don’t know a lot about America’s #1 Big Game Animal the Magestic Whitetail Deer.

WHITE-TAILED DEER
Odocoileus virginianus

Copyright © 1997

Range: White-tailed deer are found over most of southern Canada and the United States (except for most of California, Nevada, and Utah) and south to Panama.

Reproduction: The mating or rutting season starts in late October and extends through early January. In Connecticut, the peak of the rutting season is the last two weeks in November. Fawns, weighing from four to eight pounds, are usually born in June. They remain under the female’s care through September, when they are weaned. The number of young born ranges from one to four, depending upon the age and condition of the doe. In Connecticut, twins are common and triplets and quadruplets have been recorded. Female fawns born early in spring have the potential to breed by the following fall.

History in Connecticut: Due to over-harvesting for venison and deerskins, market hunting, and a general loss of deer habitat caused by extensive clearing of the land for farming, white-tailed deer were uncommon in Connecticut from 1700 to approximately 1900. The numerous laws enacted during this period to protect the dwindling deer resource, plus the improvement in deer habitat as farms were abandoned, contributed to a slow but steady rebound in deer numbers. In 1907, legislation was passed allowing landowners to shoot deer causing crop damage on their land. Since then, harvest regulations have been gradually liberalized to deal with the growing herd and increasing deer damage problems. In 1974, Connecticut passed the Deer Management Act and, in 1975, held its first deer firearms hunting season, changing the status of white-tailed deer from agricultural nuisance to valuable game animal. The deer population continues to increase, as deer benefit from man’s land use activities, evidenced by their adaptation to manicured suburban environments and the clearing of forests for timber harvest and cordwood cutting.

Interesting Facts: Male white-tailed deer grow and shed antlers annually. The antlers begin to grow in April or May. They are soft and covered with a sensitive tissue known as velvet. By fall, the antlers harden; the deer scrape them against saplings to remove the velvet in preparation for the rut. Antlers are used in sparring during the mating season. They are shed from mid-December to late-January. Antler size is determined by age, genetics, and nutritional value of the deer’s diet.

Frequently, well-meaning people find a fawn alone in the woods and bring it home without realizing that the doe was nearby all the time. To divert the attention of predators, female deer only visit their fawns three or four times a day, for about 15 minutes per visit, in order to feed them. Not only is removing a healthy fawn from the wild illegal, but it also reduces the animal’s chances of survival. To assist a fawn that has definitely been abandoned or injured, contact the Wildlife Division for the name of a licensed rehabilitator in your area. These trained volunteers are the only people who can legally rehabilitate wildlife in the state.

Management of Nuisances: Nuisance deer can be controlled using a number of methods, such as fencing, repellents, and preventive measures.

Fencing: Electric high-tensile wire fences such as the 7-strand slant wire, the 6-wire vertical fence, and others have been designed to protect crops from deer damage. Spacing between wires should be about eight to 10 inches and any brush around the fence should be cleared away. The type of fence to construct depends on such factors as terrain, vegetation, location, and deer density. For more detailed information on electric fences, contact the Wildlife Division.

Woven-wire fences may also be used to keep deer out of an area, and cattle fencing or chicken wire fences will work if constructed eight to 10 feet high. Wire strands strung above the woven wire can add more height if desired. Wire mesh fences may be erected around individual ornamentals or other plants you might wish to protect from deer browsing.

Repellents: The use of repellents can be costly because they must be re-applied following rain. In areas of high deer density and limited food resources, repellents have little value. Home remedies such as bone meal or human hair tied in sacks hung from trees have been used with limited success. Soap has recently become a popular home remedy in northeast orchards. Taste and odor repellents have been used with varying degrees of success.

Preventive Measures: Plant high-value crops away from woods, shrub rows, or other deer cover. Ornamentals that are unpalatable to deer should be planted in areas subject to deer damage. Persimmon, lilac, boxwood, jasmine, holly, pepper tree, wax myrtle, century plant, and narcissus are just a few of the plants that can be considered.

Population Reduction: Farmers who are experiencing deer damage problems would be wise to encourage hunting on their property during the regulated deer seasons. The only practical way to control free-ranging deer herds in the state is by harvesting animals each year to help curb population expansion and maintain the deer herd at a level compatible with the habitat and farming interests.

Population Management: Because deer have a high reproductive potential and few natural predators, deer populations have the potential to increase rapidly. In the absence of significant mortality, deer populations can double in size in two years. High deer populations can significantly alter forested habitats reducing plant diversity and habitat suitability for other wildlife species. In addition, deer can impact flower and vegetable gardens, landscape plantings, and pose a threat to motorists on Connecticut roadways. The Wildlife Division recommends the use of regulated and controlled hunts to effectively and efficiently reduce and maintain deer populations in balance with cultural and habitat carrying capacities.

For more information on crop damage and white-tailed deer control, contact the Wildlife Division.

Copyright: These fact sheets may be copied and used for educational purposes only. Illustrations are copyright protected and may not be used in any other format.

This is something that I hope to take if it ever gets a little closer to the Northeast.

In response to interest expressed by our members, QDMA has scheduled three Deer Steward I certification courses, as well as the first-ever Deer Steward II certification course, for 2008. This follows the successful first year for the REACH program’s individual QDM certification process that takes interested QDMA members to the most advanced levels of deer management knowledge. We will offer one scholarship per Level I course to a high school junior or senior or a college student. An application will be made available. Interested parties should contact Kip Adams kadams@qdma.com for more information. The applicant should have a strong interest in wildlife conservation, quality deer management and Quality Deer Management Association. The course dates and locations are: Deer Steward Level I Level I Registration Opens February 1st ~ April 11-14 QDMA National Headquarters, Athens, GA ~ April 25-28 Pokagon State Park, Angola, IN ~ May 16-19 Mississippi State University, Starkville, MSDeer Steward Level II Level II Registration Opens April 1st ~ June 13-16 QDMA National Headquarters, Athens, GA For more information CLICK HERE. A printable version of the registration form will be available on the QDMA website after February 1. To Register by phone, call 800.209.3337 and ask for customer service.

In an effort to better communicate with QDMA Supporters the QDMA will be sending email alerts, special member-only offers, updates and even management tips. We respect our members/supporters and under no circumstances will your email address ever be shared or sold. If you have suggestions or ideas that you would like to see included in these email transmissions Click Here and reply with Suggestion in the Subject line. You do have the option to opt out of our email communication at any time. If you wish to have your email address removed from our database Click Here and respond with Remove in the subject line.
Thank you for supporting the QDMA!

I wanted to briefly touch base on this nasty disease that has possibly popped up in Michigan. I heard about this from Arthur at “Simply Outdoors” and I sincerely hope that the doe they think has this dreadful disease shows negative when the tests come back. From what I have read it is not visible to hunters but, the one thing you can do is while field dressing you can take a close look at the lungs which could have yellow to tan pea sized nodules in the chest cavity or on the lungs.

Clinical Signs and Pathology in Wild and Captive Deer and Elk
Click here to see pictures of tuberculosis lesions in wild deer from Michigan
Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease, and small lesions in wild white-tailed deer often are not readily recognized. Abscesses may not be visible to hunters when field dressing wild deer. Indeed, most infected white-tailed deer appear healthy. Affected animals may have yellow to tan, pea-sized nodules in the chest cavity or lungs. Lymph nodes of the head and neck can be swollen and necrotic.
Captive cervids with tuberculosis often appear healthy because infection is localized in one or a few lymph nodes, usually in the head or thorax. Tuberculosis is a chronic, progressive disease that can cause gradual debilitation and is manifest as emaciation, depression, and intolerance to exercise. Because infection often involves the lungs, coughing, nasal discharges, and difficulty breathing can occur in severe cases. In some instances, superficial lymph nodes in the neck will develop large abscesses that may rupture and drain through the skin.
At necropsy, tuberculosis lesions are variable in appearance and size. Subclinically infected animals may have one or a few small necrotic nodules that usually are associated with the lymph nodes of the head and neck or the lungs. More severely infected cervids can have multiple pea-sized nodules or large cheesy or pus-filled masses in the same areas. The classical tubercle, which is firm, white or pale yellow, and gritty when cut, does occur in cervids, but many M. bovis lesions in these animals are filled with pus. In cervids, tuberculous lesions are most often seen in the lymph nodes of the head and neck or in lung tissue; however, lesions can occur throughout the chest cavity, under the skin of the chest, and in the abdominal cavity as well.
(Source of the above text on this page: Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases in the Southeastern United States, 2nd Ed., W.R. Davidson, V.F.Nettles, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 1997)