I see all the posts on here about people wanting to know more and more questions about deer, age, score, genetics and all so I thought I would start a post on the basis of what the animal is when you boil it all down. Let's start at the beginning so we know where we are going with management and habitat requirements. I would like to make this an ongoing series of topics and to be an educational learning tool for anyone who needs it.
A little background on me first, where the info is coming from. I have a BS in Animal Science and Wildlife Mgt. I have worked in both the private and public sector of wildlife management and biology over the past 15 years. Deer breeder manager, wildlife biologist, forester and fisheries management have been my strong points over that time. So now, lets get started with deer....
Deer are ruminants(four stomachs) just like(kinda) cattle, sheep and goats. They are lumped into the Cervid family along with Moose and Elk. There are generally an accepted 25+ sub-species of whitetail deer spread all over North and South America.
Whitetail deer(WTD) are more commonly known as a browse eating animal, but are also known to be generalists and can easily adapt in most environments. Grasses make up very little of their total daily intake, but can vary by location and season. Oats and Wheat for example can make up a good portion of their diet in the cool season. Being a ruminant, deer must eat approximately every 8 hours. Typical behavior is to feed at daylight and dusk, the term for this type of animal is "Crepuscular". However, they will feed off and on throughout the day and night in most cases. Time spent while not feeding are typically spent laying around ruminating(regurgitating their food to continue to break it down to digest, just like a cow) what they have already eaten, looking for water/does and sleeping. A big misconception is that deer only move early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
A little background on me first, where the info is coming from. I have a BS in Animal Science and Wildlife Mgt. I have worked in both the private and public sector of wildlife management and biology over the past 15 years. Deer breeder manager, wildlife biologist, forester and fisheries management have been my strong points over that time. So now, lets get started with deer....
Deer are ruminants(four stomachs) just like(kinda) cattle, sheep and goats. They are lumped into the Cervid family along with Moose and Elk. There are generally an accepted 25+ sub-species of whitetail deer spread all over North and South America.
Whitetail deer(WTD) are more commonly known as a browse eating animal, but are also known to be generalists and can easily adapt in most environments. Grasses make up very little of their total daily intake, but can vary by location and season. Oats and Wheat for example can make up a good portion of their diet in the cool season. Being a ruminant, deer must eat approximately every 8 hours. Typical behavior is to feed at daylight and dusk, the term for this type of animal is "Crepuscular". However, they will feed off and on throughout the day and night in most cases. Time spent while not feeding are typically spent laying around ruminating(regurgitating their food to continue to break it down to digest, just like a cow) what they have already eaten, looking for water/does and sleeping. A big misconception is that deer only move early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
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