Understanding Deer Movements

1
Understanding Deer Movements

• Original Power Point Created by
• Andy Harrison

Modified by the GA Agriculture Education
Curriculum Office July 2002
2
What Makes Deer Move?

• Intrinsic Factors
• Things that happen inside the deers body
• Extrinsic Factors
• Things that happen outside the deers body

3
Intrinsic Factors

• Light
• Amount of daylight or lack of it each day
• Circadian rhythms
• Daily activity patterns
• Whitetail are basically crepuscular, meaning they
  move in low light conditions
• Eyes are well adapted to low light conditions
• The back of the eye has a reflective membrane
  called a
• tapetum lucidum

4
Intrinsic Factors

• Overall body condition
• If in poor condition move any time of day night
• Rut can cause any amount of movement of any
  distance and any time of day

5
Extrinsic Factors

• Deer to deer interactions
• Deer/Predator (hunter) interactions
• Weather
• Food

6
Deer to Deer Interactions

• Highly social
• Travel in loose social groups
• Structure within in the group is rigid
• Alpha doe dominates with various levels of
  subordinates
• Dominant bucks
• Except as fawns or yearlings they seldom mix with
  doe groups

7
Deer to Deer Interactions

• Social pressures on bucks often initiate movement
• Yearling bucks look for new homes
• Dominant bucks are displaced by fighting
• At any sign of weakness, lesser bucks will attack
• Rut and previous breeding experience
• Pre-rut scouting trips are not uncommon for all
  ages of bucks

8
Deer/Predator Interactions

• Deer have learned over time to avoid predators,
  including hunters
• Can adjust normal movement habits to avoid
  predators
• Sometimes they move in bright daylight

9
Weather

• Deer generally do not travel in adverse weather
  unless they have good fat stores
• Single most important factor is temperature
• Shade
• Overcast conditions
• Adaptations of deer to climate
• What is relative to the area

10
Weather

• Wind impedes movement
• Deer rely on senses
• E.g. smell and hearing
• Wind causes deer to modify movement patterns or
  limit activity to protected areas
• Moon
• Phase of the moon may have little or no effect
• Deer normally feed by the light of the moon

11
What Does All This Mean?

• Best weapon man has is his mind
• Three year old buck has learned many tricks and
  has become very woods wise
• Deer are no match for human intellect when the
  knowledge is properly applied