Here’s an in-depth look at what years of scientific research have revealed about buck rubs: The rut’s most visible signpost. A mature buck in rut, deprived of favorable tree stems for rubbing, will rub just about any type and size of tree — even fence posts and utility poles. However, scientific literature indicates bucks […]
Despite their inherent behavioral differences, gray wolves and coyotes share one common dietary interest: white-tailed deer.
There has been much debate about taking a rear-end bowshot on a whitetail. First off, is it effective? Second, is it even ethical?
White-tailed deer populations are on the decline nationwide. Although the reasons vary regionally, some experts suggest diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) are a contributing factor — at least in specific areas.
In the world of whitetail population management, the work of Dr. Tony DeNicola falls somewhere between scientific research and anti-hunting ethos. Dr. DeNicola is founder and president of White Buffalo Inc., a Connecticut-based non-profit that helps urban communities deal with their deer overpopulation problems (whitebuffaloinc.com). One of the most controversial methods White Buffalo uses is […]
Come along for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the country’s top wildlife biology programs. Students of the DeerLab at Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences in east-central Alabama are helping shape the future of deer research and management in the U.S. Auburn University has a long history of completing insightful research projects […]
What is it about white-tailed deer that makes them so hard to predict? Better yet, how much are deer patterning hunters each season?
A couple of years ago I started a file to keep up with different urban deer problems and how cities were dealing with the situations. The file grew to an enormous length. Cities great and small throughout the eastern half of the United States have problems with overpopulations of white-tailed deer. Even tiny Decorah, Iowa, in […]
Ask any deer hunter what he or she thinks are a deer’s favorite foods and you’ll likely get a laundry list of the best forage for deer. Probably would go something like this: corn, clover, soybeans, rye, wheat, alfalfa, acorns, whatever agriculture crops are available, apples, pears, persimmons, berries and on and on. You’ll get […]
When brutal winters roll into northern states deer hunters often wonder if the whitetail population will take a severe hit or if the animals can make it through to spring. Mortality for some is a given, of course, but how do deer and other wildlife manage to get through the frigid season? By John J. […]