Mortality of White-Tailed Deer Fawns in South-Central Iowa

Relation of Maternal Age to Fawn-Rearing Success in White-Tailed Deer

“…Huegel et al (1985) proposed that vegetation structure at the fawn's bedsite may influence its survival, pointing out that ground-level vegetation typically is sparse in the Southwest where losses to predators often are severe, as compared to the denser cover and lower predation rates normally found in the Midwest. Contrary to our findings, Michael (1964) and Hirth (1977) reported that newborn fawns select their own bedding sites, and according to Jackson et al (1972) male fawns, because of their precocious nature, were more susceptible to predation than the less active females.…”

Mortality Rates of Marked and Unmarked Fawns

“…52(3): [549][550][551] Information concerning development and survival of newborn fawns is critical to proper management of deer. Investigators have captured and marked newborn fawns to calculate birth and conception dates (McGinnes and Downing 1977), determine fawn growth rates (Nelson and Woolf 1985), and assess the causes and rates of fawn mortality (Carroll and Brown 1977, Huegel et al 1985a, Nelson and Woolf 1987. However, because of certain sex-related differences in newborn fawn behavior (e.g., males are more active) (Jackson et al 1972), and age-specific variations in maternal care and fawn rearing success (Ozoga et al 1982, Ozoga andVerme 1986) data based on captured animals could be biased.…”

Maternal Age and Fawn Rearing Success for White-tailed Deer in Illinois

“…Does were marked with radio collars (n = 133) or plastic collars marked with fluorescent numbers (n = 210), aged based on tooth replacement and wear as fawns (<12 mo), yearlings (13-24 mo), or adults (>25 mo or exact ages as marked fawns and yearlings grew older), eartagged, and released. Wheat and hayfields, often used as sites of parturition by deer when available (Huegel et al, 1985), were not consistently available on our study areas. Bottomland forest types were dependent on flooding frequency, with frequently flooded areas dominated by silver maple (Acer saccharinum) >50 yr old and drier sites supporting mixtures of silver maple, hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), elms and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) >80 yr old.…”

“…Two-yr-old does often gave birth in oak-hickory forests and bottomland forests that did not offer fawns the dense overhead cover important for concealment during the early weeks postpartum (Lent, 1974;Huegel et al, 1985;Ozoga and Verme, 1986). Two-yr-old does often gave birth in oak-hickory forests and bottomland forests that did not offer fawns the dense overhead cover important for concealment during the early weeks postpartum (Lent, 1974;Huegel et al, 1985;Ozoga and Verme, 1986).…”

“…Although fawn mortality rates have been reported for well-fed deer in the midwest (Bryan, 1980;Huegel et al, 1985;Nelson and Woolf, 1987), they have not been linked to the age and experience of the doe on these ranges. Our objective was to estimate fawn survival in relation to age of mother from three sites in Illinois, based upon repeated observations of marked females and their fawns (marked and unmarked) throughout their Ist yr of life.…”