Deer Update

Odocileus virginianus - the North American whitetail deer - is a remarkably adaptable creature.  A true survivor. In pre-settlement times the deer population of Wisconsin was much smaller than it is today.  And it was about to get smaller.   The fur trade and later subsistence hunting and market hunting reduced deer populations to their lowest levels in modern history. Then a curious thing happened. Following the great cut-over of Wisconsin's old growth forest and the later collapse of farming in many northern Wisconsin counties a younger forest emerged.  And with it the population of deer rebounded. Thanks to a combination of forest succession, the species' polygamous breeding habits and scientific game management it is estimated that the Wisconsin deer herd today is four times that of the early 1960s.

You might be asking yourself why the deer in the photo looks so scruffy and mangy. The animal does not have a skin disease.

Hormonal changes bring about a molting process twice a year and deer alternately grow a faded gray coat consisting of longer guard hairs and replace it with the rusty-colored roan coat of summer. The summer coat will only last about three months before the critter begins to regrow the extra layer of longer, stiffer, hollow hair over the softer hair closer to the skin.

Until the transition is complete the local whitetails are going to continue looking a bit raggedy.

 

Scruffy Deer

This animal looks a bit shaggy - perhaps a bit scruffy.  It would be a fawn born earlier last year.  Which would make him a teenager.

Maybe he just got out of bed...

Scruffy Deer

This animal looks a bit shaggy - perhaps a bit scruffy.  It would be a fawn born earlier last year.  Which would make him a teenager.

Maybe he just got out of bed...

Mangy Deer

I have blogged about this before - and here too. Once again there are some scraggly, raggedy, scruffy, mangy, derelict deer showing-up on the trail camera. Most of the whitetails appear to be healthy and robust.  A handful not so much.

As near as I can tell these are yearlings that survived the winter scratching-out a living.  As much as I think there are too many deer around these parts I sure would like to see these (this) guy put a little meat on his bones... 

More About the Mangy Deer

click to enlarge

Odocileus virginianus - the North American whitetail deer - is a remarkably adaptable creature.  A true survivor.  In pre-settlement times the deer population of Wisconsin was much smaller than it is today.  And it was about to get smaller.  The fur trade and later subsistence hunting and market hunting reduced deer populations to their lowest levels in modern history.  Then a curious thing happened.  Following the great cut-over of Wisconsin's old growth forest and the later collapse of farming in many northern Wisconsin counties a younger forest emerged.  And with it the population of deer rebounded.  Thanks to a combination of forest succession, the species' polygamous breeding habits and scientific game management it is estimated that the Wisconsin deer herd today is four times that of the early 1960s.  

You might be asking yourself why the deer above looks so scruffy and mangy along with the obvious red patches.  The animal does not have a skin disease.

Hormonal changes bring about a molting process twice a year and deer alternately grow a faded gray coat consisting of longer guard hairs and replace it with the rusty red-colored coat of summer.  The summer coat will only last about three months before the critter begins to regrow the extra layer of longer, stiffer, hollow hair over the softer hair closer to the skin.   

Until the transition is complete the local whitetails are going to continue looking a bit raggedy. 

Mangy Deer

Taken by trail camera #2.

I don't know about you but these photos are of a doe and her buck fawn of last year and they are the scrawniest, scruffiest, shaggiest skin and bones deer I've seen in awhile.

They're dated April 30 so the animals have been eating better as things have begun to green-up on the landscape but these whitetails look hungover and wretched.

Mangy Deer

This has got to be one of the mangiest deer I have seen in awhile.

No self-respecting whitetail should be see in this condition much less posing for a picture by the trail camera.

Raggedy, Scraggly and Mangy Deer

Collected the SD cards from the three trail cameras yesterday.  They're all in new locations.  Had to hunt for the third because I had forgotten where I placed it two weeks ago.  Picture count numbered 36, 93 and 162 for a total of 291 photos over the course of 15 days.  All deer.

Not only have the trees on the farm been hammered by over-browsing by the deer - the post winter deer herd is looking pretty rough. 

click on images to enlarge

 

You can even see the pelvic bones poking through on this gaunt-looking deer.



This is as good a sign as any of a local deer population that is at carrying capacity.  With all the browse gone and unlikely to be replaced this year the deer are going to be stressed to the point of significant mortality.

Unless, of course, someone thins the herd this year.

Sick Deer?

Last week I posted a picture of a deer with what I figured was a skin disorder.  Here it is.

My pal Lawyer offered-up a possible diagnosis of fibromastosis.  So I passed along the picture of both the deer and Lawyer's suggestion to a deer biologist with the WDNR.

He replied:  It’s really hard to say anything is out of the normal on this deer in my opinion. At first glance, the dark patches on the coat just look like tufts of hair sticking up to me. Fibromastosis is an option, however. Hopefully a few more pictures will provide additional clues. Let me know if you get more pictures.

So here's another picture.

click on images to enlarge

I think it might be the same deer and other than the worsening of the skin disorder the animal looks perfectly healthy.  I sent the picture on to WDNR over the weekend.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Sick Deer?

I'm not sure what's going on with this whitetail.  But it has spots or dark blotches on it's hide.

Is it the mange?  Maybe something else?

click on image to enlarge

Mangy Deer

These have got to be just about the mangiest deer I've ever seen.

Lots of rain lately.

They might have slept in their clothes...