This week’s blog was written by Liam B., a Gobblers and Bass alumni. Liam is a junior in high school who has attended the Wildlife Leadership Academy as both a student and an assistant team leader over the past two summers. He has participated in WLA mainly due to to his interest in wildlife overall, and notably ornithology. He plans to attend college and afterwards pursue a career with the game commission.
Around this time of year, many mammals can be seen in the woods of Pennsylvania. From grey squirrels to opossum, to red fox. If you are lucky (or unlucky, depending on who you ask), you might even see a coyote or bobcat. But one of the largest, and more well-known inhabitants of our woods, is also one of the most impacted. The white-tailed deer, a common game animal, especially during this time of year, has had the most bipolar reactions to the presence of humans in their habitat, and as such, it has had many impacts on their environment. Here, we will begin to bring these impacts to light and see how this creature’s impact on Pennsylvania was felt in the past and is felt in the present.
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a large even-toed ungulate, and one of the most common cervids in the Americas, with its range extending from the middle of British Columbia, to the top of South America. The white-tailed deer has a rather seasonal diet, preferring the green parts of shrubs and trees and fruit during spring and summer. However, in autumn and winter, they eat seeds, nuts, and the more woody vegetation such as bark and twigs. They are browsers and as such eat from the tree and shrub layer, as opposed to grazers. They are prey animals for a few large carnivores, notably coyotes, bobcats, and sometimes, bears. Regardless of their array of predators, their numbers never seem to be critically low, as both males and females reach sexual maturity early, and females have 1-3 fawns per year.
A White-tailed Deer in a cornfield, a common sight this time of year.
The white-tailed deer have been impacted in an interesting way by humanity. At first, they seemed to suffer somewhat. Due to overhunting and some level of deforestation, their populations reached a rather measly 300,000 in the US. However, after an extreme outcry from conservationists and the public, efforts were put in place to help their population rebound, to great effect. So great, in fact, that they managed to exceed their carrying capacity in certain areas, and as such, they have become something of a nuisance species. This is because their high numbers and diet of the more sensitive parts of plants not only affects forests but also farmland, and causes much grief in the agricultural sector. This has been remedied to some degree by the hunting season, which helps moderate their population. Overall, White-tailed deer in Pennsylvania have had a long, conflicting, and confusing relationship with humanity.
The photo used in this blog belongs to the author.
Stags and Snags: The Strange History of White-tailed Deer in Pennsylvania
Posted: December 20, 2022 by Katie Mace
This week’s blog was written by Liam B., a Gobblers and Bass alumni. Liam is a junior in high school who has attended the Wildlife Leadership Academy as both a student and an assistant team leader over the past two summers. He has participated in WLA mainly due to to his interest in wildlife overall, and notably ornithology. He plans to attend college and afterwards pursue a career with the game commission.
Around this time of year, many mammals can be seen in the woods of Pennsylvania. From grey squirrels to opossum, to red fox. If you are lucky (or unlucky, depending on who you ask), you might even see a coyote or bobcat. But one of the largest, and more well-known inhabitants of our woods, is also one of the most impacted. The white-tailed deer, a common game animal, especially during this time of year, has had the most bipolar reactions to the presence of humans in their habitat, and as such, it has had many impacts on their environment. Here, we will begin to bring these impacts to light and see how this creature’s impact on Pennsylvania was felt in the past and is felt in the present.
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a large even-toed ungulate, and one of the most common cervids in the Americas, with its range extending from the middle of British Columbia, to the top of South America. The white-tailed deer has a rather seasonal diet, preferring the green parts of shrubs and trees and fruit during spring and summer. However, in autumn and winter, they eat seeds, nuts, and the more woody vegetation such as bark and twigs. They are browsers and as such eat from the tree and shrub layer, as opposed to grazers. They are prey animals for a few large carnivores, notably coyotes, bobcats, and sometimes, bears. Regardless of their array of predators, their numbers never seem to be critically low, as both males and females reach sexual maturity early, and females have 1-3 fawns per year.
The white-tailed deer have been impacted in an interesting way by humanity. At first, they seemed to suffer somewhat. Due to overhunting and some level of deforestation, their populations reached a rather measly 300,000 in the US. However, after an extreme outcry from conservationists and the public, efforts were put in place to help their population rebound, to great effect. So great, in fact, that they managed to exceed their carrying capacity in certain areas, and as such, they have become something of a nuisance species. This is because their high numbers and diet of the more sensitive parts of plants not only affects forests but also farmland, and causes much grief in the agricultural sector. This has been remedied to some degree by the hunting season, which helps moderate their population. Overall, White-tailed deer in Pennsylvania have had a long, conflicting, and confusing relationship with humanity.
The photo used in this blog belongs to the author.
Category: Youth Blog Tags: featured, natural history, whitetailed deer, wildlife