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Reproductive Performance Of Female White-Tailed Deer On Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Thomas A. Nelson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Aspects of the reproductive biology of female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge were investigated by examining the reproductive tracts of 121 deer harvested during the 1985-90 archery seasons. The presence of corpora albicantia in yearlings suggested that 27% of female fawns conceived, producing a mean of 1.0 ova/breeding fawn. Pregnancy rates among yearlings and adults averaged 94% and 97%, respectively. Ovulation rates averaged 1.4 and 2.0 ova/female among yearlings and adults. Some females were ovulating in early-October, but the earliest conceptions occurred during the last week of October. The peak breeding period for yearlings and …