Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessment Of Fawn Breeding In A South Carolina Deer Herd, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., James M. Novak, Michael H. Smith, Paul E. Johns

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Annual variation in breeding success among female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns on the Savannah River Plant (1967 to 1985) was determined from direct counts of pregnancy in spring-collected fawn females and evidence of lactation and measurements of udder thickness in fall-harvested 1. 5-yearolds. Percent lactation in 1.5-year-old females collected during September and October gave the best estimate of fawn breeding in the previous year. The overall mean fawn breeding estimate from September and October was 41 % , and the yearly variation in fawn breeding was significant. An estimate of the average yearly contribution to recruitment was 43 fetuses …