Forestland Wildlife

1. Forestland Wildlife Large Game

2. Terms Associated with Forestland Wildlife • Behavior Modification: changes in normal actions in order to adapt to a new environment • Browsers: a subdivision of herbivores which eat shrubbery, such as tender shoots, twigs, and leaves • Grazers: a subdivision of herbivores which eat primarily grasses • Maximum Sustained Yield: largest average harvest taken continuously from a population under existing conditions

3. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) • Most popular game species in North America • Provides humans with food, sport, and viewing enjoyment • Probably more than any other species the white tailed deer represents things wild and free to the human mind

4. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Causes for the decreased population of the white-tailed deer in the early 1900’s • Deer populations were small and scattered by the turn of the 20th century, primarily as a result of loss of habitat due to extensive forest clearing and unregulated market hunting. • In the early 1900’s deer were so scarce that in much of the United States sightings were often reported in local newspapers.

5. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Size and sex criteria of white tailed deer • Easily recognized by its long legs and hoofed toes, moderately long and well haired tail, large size and presence of antlers in parts of the year in males. • External genitalia are absolute sex identification characteristic for all ages of deer. • White tailed deer continue to increase in weight until it is roughly six years old • Mature white tailed bucks usually weigh between 180 and 300 pounds with does weighing 25% to 40% less

6. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Antler growth cycle • The increased hours of daylight in spring stimulates the pituitary gland to initiate antler growth (usually April-May) • The base of the antler is still covered with soft skin richly supplied with blood vessels • The blood transports the calcium, phosphorous, protein, and other materials from which the antlers are made • During growth, from the time the antler first appears until they assume their final size, the soft skin and short hair covereing each antler have a plush like quality giving them the name “velvet”

7. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Antler growth cycle (cont.) • Full antler size is reached in August-September, shortly before the breeding or rutting season begins. • Male sex hormone, testosterone, is being produced in increasing amounts and starts shedding of the velvet • In this process the blood supply is cut off at the base of the antler and the velvet skin begins to dry and peel • the buck begins to rub his antlers against trees and shrubs to remove the dead skin • When the dead skin is shed the boney core remains • Antlers are carried in this condition throughout the rut

8. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Antler growth cycle (cont.) • At the end of the breeding season, usually from the last of December to February, the antlers become loose and are shed

9. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Age Criteria, Age Ratio, and Longevity • It is not possible to tell the age of a buck by the size of its antlers or the number of points on the antler • Antler growth depends on many factors such as the deer’s age, the quality and quantity of food, injury, hormone regulation and heredity • Therefore white-tailed deer of the same age may have markedly different “racks”

10. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Age Criteria, Age ratio, and Longevity (cont.) • The best means of age determination is tooth replacement and wear • Aging by tooth replacement and wear is most accurate on fawns and yearlings • More than 90% of the harvest each year is composed of deer under the age of four

11. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Age Criteria, Age ratio, and Longevity (cont.) • Deer are in the prime of their life between two and seven years old • Some may live for about 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity • How to age white tailed deer

12. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Voice and Sounds of The White-Tailed Deer • Adult deer are usually silent but make certain sounds on occasion • When scared they sometimes give out a loud, hoarse, high pitched shriek • They frequently snort or blow • Females call their young by a low murmur and the young respond back with a “baa”

13. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Color of the White-Tailed Deer • In summer, both sexes are reddish brown to tan with white markings about the throat, underbelly, legs and tail • Color patterns of the winter coat is similar to the summer one but is grayish to grayish brown

14. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Mobility of The White-Tailed Deer • Deer normally walk, trot, or bound along in low, smooth jumps interspersed with an occasional high jump for observation • When startled they may run at speeds up to 35 miles per hour • Deer are excellent jumpers and when pressed can clear fences eight and a half feet tall • White tailed deer are also great swimmers and can attain a speed of 11 to 13 miles per hour in water

15. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Habitat of the White-Tailed Deer • White-Tailed deer favor a habitat of forested area • Prefer timber areas which border other habitat areas • Main reason for the habitat preference is the great variety of food available

16. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Reproduction • The peak of mating season or rutting season is November • Does may come into “heat” as early as September • The heat period, or time of receptivity, lasts about 24 hours • Unmated does will continue to come into heat every 28 days during the breeding season

17. White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) cont. • Reproduction (cont.) • Pregnancy lasts 6 ½ to 7 months • Fawns are often born in late May to early June • A doe usually has twins but sometimes may have a single offspring or triplets • At birth each fawn weighs between four and seven pounds and measures 17 to 19 inches in total length 9its eyes are open and it can stand feebly) • Weaning may begin as early as three to four weeks but some fawns nurse till they are six months old • The young accompany the mother till they are old enough to reproduce or the mother has another liter

18. Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) • Physical Characteristics of the Eastern Wild Turkey • Largest upland game bird in the United States • Adult birds usually weigh between 13-20 pounds with some exceptional individuals weighing 24 pounds or better • Plumage of the wild turkey is basically the same in both the hen and the gobbler, with shades of dark brown, brown and black predominantly in the feathers

19. Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) cont. • Physical Characteristics of the Easten Wild Turkey (cont.) • Most colorful part of the turkey is the head, which varies from hues of bluish gray and red, to neutral gray and purples • Adult gobblers have spurs • Second most predominant characteristic of the gobbler is the beard • The beard of a mature gobbler can measure between 3 and 9 inches long

20. Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) cont. • Major Foods of the Wild Turkey • The food of the wild turkey includes fruits, acorns, tubers, beechnuts, dogwoods, gums, wild grapes, and other nuts and berries • Turkey also eat grasses, wheat, corn, snails, and other insects

21. Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) cont. • Habitual Characteristics of the Wild Turkey • Mixed hardwood forest with scattered openings are ideal habitat for the wild turkey • Mating takes place in April and May (hens lay 4 – 10 eggs (clutch) in ground nest and incubate them for 28 – 30 days before they hatch) • Young turkeys follow their mother for several months after hatching (imprinting)

22. Wild Boar • Major Physical Characteristics of the Wild Boar • Average height is 3 ½ to 5 feet • Average weight is 500 pounds • Very coarse, thin hair • Gray to blackish in color • Tusks curve upwards • Piglets are dark spotted and stripped lengthwise

23. Wild Boar (cont.) • Major Foods of The Wild Boar • Fruits • Tender roots • tubers

24. Wild Boar (cont.) • Habitual Characteristics of the Wild Boar • Boars are very quick and fierce fighters • They are good swimmers • Very little is known about the wild boar for they are found in limited areas and are difficult to observe in the wild (normally)