Predator-avoidance behaviors of white-tailed deer that favor fawn survival

Huegel, Craig N.

doi:10.31274/rtd-180814-5569

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Later, fawns were visited randomly, and the time of contacts and the length of time between successive contacts became variable, limiting the predator's ability to predict optimal times to observe individual females. Huegel (1985) reported less association than expected during early evening hours, while in the present study association frequency was higher than expected around this time. These differences may be viewed as adaptations to different predators.…”

Section: Frequencycontrasting

confidence: 82%

“…The mother must memorize the young's bedding site, initiate contacts, ingest urine and feces, guide the young to new bedding sites, and give no clues about its location by body orientation and activity patterns (Byers and Byers, 1983;Geist, 1981). Perhaps most importantly, successful protection of young should represent a careful arrangement of spatial relations, timing of contact periods, and frequency of association between mother and young (Huegel, 1985). This arrangement should be closely tuned to the composition and density of predators, to habitat characteristics such as the distribution of food and hiding cover (Geist, 1974), and to the physical development of the young.…”

Section: Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early Mother-Young Relations in White-Tailed Deer

Schwede

Hendrichs

Wemmer

1994

Journal of Mammalogy

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During 1986-1988, mother-young relations in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were studied at the National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center. During the first few we~ks after parturition, mothers associated very little with their fawns and periods of contact were brief; they visited their fawns predominantly at sunrise and sunset. Later, fawns were visited randomly, and time of contacts and length of time between successive contacts became variable. Mothers kept the shortest distances during the first 2 weeks; distances then increased and remained constant. Up to 4 weeks of age, distances were shortest at night, but later, mothers were located farthest from their fawns during this time. Mother-young distances during times of reiInion also increased with age. Behavioral differences between sexes began to unfold in mother-young relationships as early as 3 weeks after birth and persisted throughout the first 3 months. Males associated less and more loosely with their mothers than females.

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Section: Frequencycontrasting

confidence: 82%

Section: Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Mother-Young Relations in White-Tailed Deer

Schwede

Hendrichs

Wemmer

1994

Journal of Mammalogy

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“…As reported previously in white-tailed deer by Downing and McGinnes (1969), White et al (1972), Bartush and Lewis (1978), Ozoga et al (1982), Huegel (1985), in black-tailed deer by Linsdale and Tomich (1953), and in roe deer by Bubenik (1965) and Espmark (1969) study the isolation period was never interrupted during the first three weeks and can be viewed as an adaptation to predation. Fawns younger than two weeks old can not outrun human capture (Downing andMcGinnes 1969, Cook et αϊ.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Fawns younger than two weeks old can not outrun human capture (Downing andMcGinnes 1969, Cook et αϊ. 1971) and are probably unable to avoid predator capture consistently before three to four weeks old (Huegel 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are reports of successful young defense by the mother against predators (Michael 1967, Litvaitis andBartush 1980) the effectiveness of this strategy relies mainly on the mother's ability to hide the young or delude predators by taking advantage of the topography or dense cover (Walther 1965). An integral component of the hiding strategy in white-tailed deer (Downing and McGinnes 1969, Bartush and Lewis 1978, Ozoga et al 1982, Huegel 1985, black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus : Linsdale and Tomich 1953) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus: Bubenik 1965, Espmark 1969 seems to be the isolation period of twin fawns during the first few weeks following parturition. Despite a growing number of publications on neonatal behavior of white-tailed deer in recent years (Cook et al 1967, Jackson et al 1972, Garner and Morrison 1977, Bartush and Lewis 1978, Ozoga et al 1982) few studies were able to provide continuous data on social and spatial relationships of siblings during the first three months (Ozoga et al 1982, Huegel 1985.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Sibling relations in young white-tailed deer fawns Odocoileus virginianus

Schwede¹,

Hendrichs²,

Wemmer³

1994

Mammalia

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Between 1986 and 1987 we monitored association frequencies and distances of five young white-tailed deer siblings Odocoileus virginianus at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center (CRC), Front Royal, Virginia, to determine their development in relation to their susceptibility to predation. Twin fawns were separated by their mother within the first few hours following parturition and were found isolated during the first three to four weeks. Subsequently, the isolation period was terminated by the mother, and twins were always guided to a communal bedding site. This was indicated by an increase in frequency of association and a decrease in distances between siblings. The results are discussed as consequences of selective adaptations to predation.

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White‐tailed deer exploit temporal refuge from multi‐predator and human risks on roads

Kautz

Fowler

Petroelje

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Although most prey have multiple predator species, few studies have quantified how prey respond to the temporal niches of multiple predators which pose different levels of danger. For example, intraspecific variation in diel activity allows white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) to reduce fawn activity overlap with coyotes (Canis latrans ) but finding safe times of day may be more difficult for fawns in a multi‐predator context. We hypothesized that within a multi‐predator system, deer would allocate antipredation behavior optimally based on combined mortality risk from multiple sources, which would vary depending on fawn presence. We measured cause‐specific mortality of 777 adult (>1‐year‐old) and juvenile (1–4‐month‐old) deer and used 300 remote cameras to estimate the activity of deer, humans, and predators including American black bears ( Ursus americanus ), bobcats ( Lynx rufus ), coyotes, and wolves ( Canis lupus ). Predation and vehicle collisions accounted for 5.3 times greater mortality in juveniles (16% mortality from bears, coyotes, bobcats, wolves, and vehicles) compared with adults (3% mortality from coyotes, wolves, and vehicles). Deer nursery groups (i.e., ≥1 fawn present) were more diurnal than adult deer without fawns, causing fawns to have 24–38% less overlap with carnivores and 39% greater overlap with humans. Supporting our hypothesis, deer nursery groups appeared to optimize diel activity to minimize combined mortality risk. Temporal refuge for fawns was likely the result of carnivores avoiding humans, simplifying diel risk of five species into a trade‐off between diurnal humans and nocturnal carnivores. Functional redundancy among multiple predators with shared behaviors may partially explain why white‐tailed deer fawn predation rates are often similar among single‐ and multi‐predator systems.

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Predator-avoidance behaviors of white-tailed deer that favor fawn survival

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

Early Mother-Young Relations in White-Tailed Deer

Early Mother-Young Relations in White-Tailed Deer

Sibling relations in young white-tailed deer fawns Odocoileus virginianus

White‐tailed deer exploit temporal refuge from multi‐predator and human risks on roads

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