Whitetail Deer Hunting in Texas
There is nothing like the thrill of the hunt, and Whitetail Deer Hunting in Texas, is no exception. KJC Ranch prides itself in maintaining a healthy herd of Whitetail Deer, so that you are always successful when you are Whitetail Deer Hunting in Texas, at KJC Ranch.
Whitetail Deer refers to the white underside of the tail, which is held conspicuously erect like a flag when the animal is alarmed or running. The adult Whitetail Deer has a bright, reddish brown summer coat and a duller grayish brown winter coat. White fur is located in a band behind the nose, in circles around the eyes, inside the ears, over the chin and throat, on the upper insides of the legs and beneath the tail. The young, called fawns, have reddish coats with white spots.
Adult males, called bucks, inhabiting the deserts tend to be smaller than their eastern relatives, which can weigh 300 pounds. Desert Whitetail bucks average about 200 pounds and stand about 3 1/2 feet high at the shoulders. As in most deer species, the females (does) are smaller, with an average weight of about 125 pounds.
Range
Throughout North America from southern Canada through Central America. Whitetail deer inhabit most of southern Canada and all of the mainland US except two or three states in the west. Their range reaches throughout Central America to Bolivia.
Related Species
The Cervidae Family includes deer and their allies, including moose, elk, and caribou. All have slender legs. Most are brown or gray in color, with white spots characterizing the young, and in a few species, the adults. The Whitetail and its cousin the Mule Deer, are the only members of this family found in the North American deserts.
Antlers (solid horns) distinguish most of the three dozen species of the deer family from the other hoofed mammals. Unlike most other hoofed mammals, which have permanent, hollow horns, only male deer grow antlers, which they shed each year.
Comparisons
The closely related Mule Deer (O. hemionus) are more commonly found in the North American deserts and throughout the West. In desert regions they are somewhat larger and stouter, have larger ears and tails tipped with black. Mule Deer antlers are normally smaller and branch to form 2 equal forks, while the male Whitetail Deer has forward curving antlers with a number of points (tines) branching from the main beam.
Vocalization
Whitetail deer are not especially vocal, although young fawns bleat on occasion. Injured deer utter a startlingly loud “blatt” or bawl. Whistles or snorts of disturbed Whitetails are the most commonly heard sounds.
Behavior
Deer are extremely cautious animals with keen senses of smell and hearing. Both Whitetail and Mule deer can run as fast as 40 miles per hour and are good swimmers. The basic social unit is a female and her fawns, although does have been observed to graze together in herds of up to hundreds of individuals. In the deserts, deer often migrate from higher summertime elevations downslope to warmer climes where more food is available. When a number gather together trampling down the snow in an area, it is known as a “deer yard.” Except for the mating season, bucks and does remain apart. Bucks generally live alone or in small groups with other bucks, while does live alone or with their fawns and female yearlings.
Habitat
Whitetail Deer generally prefer open woodland, but are often found on the fringes of urban areas and in farming country, but desert species can occur in most habitats within 10 miles of a water source. They often enter human inhabited areas and feast on flowers and grass as well as regularly getting a drink from man’s abundant water supplies. Some deer have also taken to eating garbage and plastic which is not at all good for them.Whitetail deer feed on a variety of vegetation, depending on what is available in their habitat. They are browsers feeding on twigs, leaves, bark, shrubs, the fruits and nuts of most vegetation, as well as lichens and other fungi. In desert areas, plants such as huajillo brush, yucca, prickly pear cactus, comal, ratama and various tough shrubs may be the main components of a Whitetail’s diet.
Conifers are often utilized in winter when other foods are scarce. Whitetail deer feed mainly from before dawn until several hours after, and again from late afternoon until dusk.
Conservation
Life span in the wild is 10 years, but Whitetail deer have lived up to 20 years in captivity. Coyote predation on fawns can be considerable, accounting for as much as 40% of fawn mortality in some areas. State fish and game agencies regard deer as a renewable, harvestable resource for viewing and hunting. Sport hunters bag about 1 million Mule Deer and 2 million Whitetail Deer annually. The National Park Service estimates that between 23 and 40 million Whitetail Deer inhabited North America before the arrival of Europeans. For a number of years the population was greatly reduced in the U.S., due to habitat loss and unrestricted hunting. But by the mid-20th century, the population has been restored throughout North America. Today, an estimated 14 to 20 million are believed to inhabit the United States alone, and in many areas of the eastern U.S. populations have soared to previously unattained levels. Experts cite various reasons for this reversal, in addition to the behavioral flexibility of deer. Game management measures have placed restrictions on hunting seasons, bag limits and available lands for public hunting, while establishing artificially protected habitats in state and national parks. Recently, the National Park Service, noted that it may need to begin “managing” the deer population in about 50 eastern parks because deer over-browsing is causing the destabilization of park ecosystems. Injuries to park visitors from contact with deer that are perceived as tame, collisions of motor vehicles with deer, and damage to crops, ornamental shrubs and flowers in historical parks were also cited as increasing problems by the NPS.
Source
http://www.desertusa.com
Whitetail Deer refers to the white underside of the tail, which is held conspicuously erect like a flag when the animal is alarmed or running. The adult Whitetail Deer has a bright, reddish brown summer coat and a duller grayish brown winter coat. White fur is located in a band behind the nose, in circles around the eyes, inside the ears, over the chin and throat, on the upper insides of the legs and beneath the tail. The young, called fawns, have reddish coats with white spots.
Adult males, called bucks, inhabiting the deserts tend to be smaller than their eastern relatives, which can weigh 300 pounds. Desert Whitetail bucks average about 200 pounds and stand about 3 1/2 feet high at the shoulders. As in most deer species, the females (does) are smaller, with an average weight of about 125 pounds.
Range
Throughout North America from southern Canada through Central America. Whitetail deer inhabit most of southern Canada and all of the mainland US except two or three states in the west. Their range reaches throughout Central America to Bolivia.
Related Species
The Cervidae Family includes deer and their allies, including moose, elk, and caribou. All have slender legs. Most are brown or gray in color, with white spots characterizing the young, and in a few species, the adults. The Whitetail and its cousin the Mule Deer, are the only members of this family found in the North American deserts.
Antlers (solid horns) distinguish most of the three dozen species of the deer family from the other hoofed mammals. Unlike most other hoofed mammals, which have permanent, hollow horns, only male deer grow antlers, which they shed each year.
Comparisons
The closely related Mule Deer (O. hemionus) are more commonly found in the North American deserts and throughout the West. In desert regions they are somewhat larger and stouter, have larger ears and tails tipped with black. Mule Deer antlers are normally smaller and branch to form 2 equal forks, while the male Whitetail Deer has forward curving antlers with a number of points (tines) branching from the main beam.
Vocalization
Whitetail deer are not especially vocal, although young fawns bleat on occasion. Injured deer utter a startlingly loud “blatt” or bawl. Whistles or snorts of disturbed Whitetails are the most commonly heard sounds.
Behavior
Deer are extremely cautious animals with keen senses of smell and hearing. Both Whitetail and Mule deer can run as fast as 40 miles per hour and are good swimmers. The basic social unit is a female and her fawns, although does have been observed to graze together in herds of up to hundreds of individuals. In the deserts, deer often migrate from higher summertime elevations downslope to warmer climes where more food is available. When a number gather together trampling down the snow in an area, it is known as a “deer yard.” Except for the mating season, bucks and does remain apart. Bucks generally live alone or in small groups with other bucks, while does live alone or with their fawns and female yearlings.
Habitat
Whitetail Deer generally prefer open woodland, but are often found on the fringes of urban areas and in farming country, but desert species can occur in most habitats within 10 miles of a water source. They often enter human inhabited areas and feast on flowers and grass as well as regularly getting a drink from man’s abundant water supplies. Some deer have also taken to eating garbage and plastic which is not at all good for them.Whitetail deer feed on a variety of vegetation, depending on what is available in their habitat. They are browsers feeding on twigs, leaves, bark, shrubs, the fruits and nuts of most vegetation, as well as lichens and other fungi. In desert areas, plants such as huajillo brush, yucca, prickly pear cactus, comal, ratama and various tough shrubs may be the main components of a Whitetail’s diet.
Conifers are often utilized in winter when other foods are scarce. Whitetail deer feed mainly from before dawn until several hours after, and again from late afternoon until dusk.
Conservation
Life span in the wild is 10 years, but Whitetail deer have lived up to 20 years in captivity. Coyote predation on fawns can be considerable, accounting for as much as 40% of fawn mortality in some areas. State fish and game agencies regard deer as a renewable, harvestable resource for viewing and hunting. Sport hunters bag about 1 million Mule Deer and 2 million Whitetail Deer annually. The National Park Service estimates that between 23 and 40 million Whitetail Deer inhabited North America before the arrival of Europeans. For a number of years the population was greatly reduced in the U.S., due to habitat loss and unrestricted hunting. But by the mid-20th century, the population has been restored throughout North America. Today, an estimated 14 to 20 million are believed to inhabit the United States alone, and in many areas of the eastern U.S. populations have soared to previously unattained levels. Experts cite various reasons for this reversal, in addition to the behavioral flexibility of deer. Game management measures have placed restrictions on hunting seasons, bag limits and available lands for public hunting, while establishing artificially protected habitats in state and national parks. Recently, the National Park Service, noted that it may need to begin “managing” the deer population in about 50 eastern parks because deer over-browsing is causing the destabilization of park ecosystems. Injuries to park visitors from contact with deer that are perceived as tame, collisions of motor vehicles with deer, and damage to crops, ornamental shrubs and flowers in historical parks were also cited as increasing problems by the NPS.
Source
http://www.desertusa.com
