The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be conducting special drawings for hunts and applications for these quality, affordable hunting experiences are available online now. Application booklets are also being mailed to last year’s primary hunt applicants and will be available at TPWD law enforcement offices.
During the upcoming hunting seasons, more than 5,700 hunters will be selected through random computer drawings allowing access to some of the state’s high-quality managed wildlife habitat. Wildlife management areas, state parks and leased private property will be available for these quality supervised hunts for white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn, javelina, alligator, exotics, feral hog and spring turkey. Continue reading “Texas Public Hunt Applications are Online”
In the US, white-tailed deer were originally transported to restore populations that were “shot out” during the early 20th century. Today, land managers continue to move deer from one area to another, but not just to restore populations. The driving force behind today’s deer translocations is primarily twofold: to augment low-density deer populations and to promote genetic improvement. However, a third option for translocation is an alternative to harvest — to manage overabundant populations; remove deer found in high deer-density urban areas, transport them, and release them elsewhere.
But regardless of why deer are moved, how do they cope? What is the survival rate and performance of transported deer after they are “liberated” at their release site? These are good questions and a study out of Texas A&M University-Kingsville hopes to answer them. We know that for a translocation program to be successful we need two things, a high survival of released deer and for the animals to remain in the area where they were released. Without achieving these two objectives, the overall goal will not be met. Continue reading “Movement and Survival of Translocated Deer”
Well, it’s not a white-tailed deer and it’s not located in the US, but a yearling (1 1/2-year old) Roe Deer was spotted in Italy with only a single antler protruding from the center of it’s head! The director of the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato told the press:
“This is fantasy becoming reality. The unicorn has always been a mythological animal.”
The 1-year-old buck, who not coincidentally is nicknamed “Unicorn,” was born in captivity in the research center’s park in the Tuscan town of Prato, near Florence. Obviously, the buck was born with a genetic flaw because his twin, like other Roe bucks, has two horns.
Single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of — but even more unusual is the central positioning of the horn. The location of the horn is probably the result of trauma early in the animal’s life, but the scientific director of Rome’s zoo said:
“Generally, the horn is on one side (of the head) rather than being at the center. This looks like a complex case. This shows that even in past times, there could have been animals with this anomaly. It’s not like they dreamed it up.”
As hunters, we know how expensive it’s becoming to hunt white-tailed deer. Not only are the prices of guided hunts and hunting leases going up, but the price of raw land is rapidly rising, as well. To make matters worse, deer managers are being hit with the climbing costs of food plot seeds, supplemental feeds, and vehicle and tractor fuels.
And as much money as the hunting industry may bring in to the US economy, it’s only a portion of the total economic impact white-tailed deer have in this country. A recent and conservative estimate put a $12.5 million price tag on deer-vehicle collisions in the state of Texas alone!
But what about crop damage? And damage to ornamental plants? And loss of human life? I understand that in many cases problems arise as people move into areas inhabited by deer. However, many suburbs create their own problems through feeding and the prohibition of hunting. But problems are problems regardless of how they come about.
Antler growth in deer really is phenomenal! In fact, deer antlers are among the fastest growing tissues in the animal kingdom. They grow as much as 1/2-inch per day during peak antler growth! Of course, the amount of antler material a buck grows depends upon nutrition, genetics, and age. Let’s look at some factors that effect deer antler growth.
Actively growing antlers are covered with a living tissue called velvet; because it really looks and feels like velvet fabric. A buck’s antlers are both extremely delicate and sensitive to the touch during antler development. Bucks are not aggressive towards each other during the antler growing period. However, this is still the time when most deer antler damage occurs.
Growing antlers are sensitive. As a result, disputes between bucks at this time are handled by bucks standing on their hind legs and swinging their front legs in the same manner than doe deer use to fight and establish dominance. This technique allows groups of bachelor bucks to sort things out, so to speak. More importantly, it keeps their all-important headgear intact.
Key factors of annual buck antler growth in whitetail include:
Age of buck
Nutrition available to the buck
Stress (physical) from prior breeding season
Genetic potential for antler growth
Older bucks typically shed & start growth first
Video: Whitetail Buck Antler Growth
Antler Growth in Bucks
White-tailed deer antler growth usually begins during the month of March or April. Buck antler development ceases by August or early September. In most cases, typical deer antlers begin growing out a buck’s head in a backward motion then quickly change direction and sweep forward as we commonly know.
So how long does it take for a buck to form hardened antlers? The following photos illustrate antler growth for a single white-tailed buck in Texas (in a research facility) from March through September. Take a look at these stages of antler growth. It all happens relatively fast!
Antler Growth Photos by Month
Antler Growth Increases with Age
Whitetail bucks drop or shed their antlers during the late winter and early spring. Fortunately, they grow them back annually. Antler growth in bucks generally increases annually as a buck ages, gets older. Substantial increases in antler size (and score) can be observed as a buck goes from 1 to 5 or 6 years of age.
White-tailed deer do not complete skeletal growth until about 3 years of age. During this time, bucks put a lot of the same materials that are used for the growth of antlers into long bones and other parts of their skeletal system. This one of the primary reasons that a buck’s antlers often make a noticeable jump from 3 to 4 years old — skeletal growth is complete and many of the antler growing supplies are now stored in those bigger bones.
Environmental Effects on Deer Antler Growth
The annual cycle of antler growth is amazing. I and hunters like myself enjoy watching particular bucks from year to year. Often times, antler configuration makes it possible to ID most bucks in subsequent years. A whitetail buck will typically show an increase in antler growth until at least age 6, possibly older. Most of the potential will be realized by 5 years of age.
Nutrition plays a role in a buck’s antler size. Bucks that have good, stable food sources provided by high quality habitat will produce better antlers than those of the same age that lack adequate nutrition. To take it further, precipitation plays a role in annual antler growth, especially as you go West in the whitetail’s range. High quality habitat can turn into mediocre habitat when it’s dry and protein-rich foods are not available.
