|
|
White-Tail Deer Habits
The range of a white-tail deer depends on how lush their habitat is and how large or small the whitetail deer population is in that area. Crowding or an overabundance of food causes the deer to have a smaller range. Males tend to roam wider areas where the doe tends to stay close to the place where she was born. Staying close to their home is an effective way of defense for deer as they get very familiar with the terrain and memorize every small detail. Deer memorize the land and its vegetation and are very quick to notice something that is new or out of place. A new object like a hunting blind or deer stand will alarm a deer and it will not feed in that area.
Even though Whitetail deer get alarmed and spooked easily they are creatures of habit. Deer will come back to the area even after you alarm them. You may not be able to see them for a couple of days but they will be back.
Food Cycles
White-tailed deer are mammals that live through yearly cycles driven by seasonal changes such as weather, habitat and hormone changes. Deer have different places they consider their range in summer and winter. As food sources become available the deer will move to areas that have nice tender shoots and ripening food that they can eat. Hunters can track the habits of deer just by getting familiar with the different foods that attract deer and where the food grows on a deer's range. Deer favorites are acorns, berries, mushrooms, apples and grapes. In more people populated areas they are constantly raiding gardens and flower beds and have a particular liking to hosta, roses and fruit tree buds. One hunter planted hosta near his favorite tree stand and the deer ate it to the ground. Every time the hosta would send up a new shoot the deer would eat it back down again. So it pays off to know where the white-tails favorite food is in the fall during hunting season.
Many of the foods in the fall season are available during a short time and can be tracked for a couple of years into a predictability record. You'll notice a predicable time when the nuts will be ripen and apples will be ready. Crops of acorn are more abundant about every third year. Apple and other fruit trees are an early season treat that deer can smell for miles. Crops like corn and soybean ripening also call deer to feed. Many hunters who own their own land plant food plots of natural plants which the deer forage on. If you know the deer's food ripening cycles then you'll know the deer's habits and when they come to eat.
Daylight and the Rut
As the seasons advance the length of daylight gets less and less. The change in light that shines into the deer's eyes effect the deer's pineal gland located in the base of its brain. The pineal gland controls hormone levels in the deer's bloodstream causing what is called "the rut". The rut is an annual recurrent state where the buck's male hormone testosterone controls antler growth, velvet shedding, sperm production, dominance, courtship and antler drop. The daylight also controls the female's hormones driving them to mate. You can track deer by looking for signs of them when they are in rut. Deer will rub their antlers against young trees sometime stripping the tree of its bark trying to shed velvet or remove antlers. You can also recognize the rut cycle in bucks by noticing fighting and aggressive behavior.
Patterns and Habits
You will rarely see bucks together except when they are near rut or they have found an excellent feeding spot. Otherwise you will rarely see bucks. When exploring you may find that you see does, fawns and young bucks eating in their favorite field and wonder where the big bucks are. Upon closer observation you notice big deep tracks of a buck. Big bucks are drawn to the same feeding spots as the other deer they just are a little smarter about when and where they eat. You'll find that big bucks are feeding during the night time and hiding in heavy cover during the day.
Understanding deer patterns, habits and behavior will help you become a better hunter.
Back to deer hunting articles page
|
