What am I seeing in the data?

[fairchaser]

Your not the first person to notice that. I would like to understand that myself. Good question.

That article referenced goes into detail about that. It started with a genetic difference from when deer were moved here and the climate difference has not required that to change. In other words fawning can occur later without negative effects. That's what I gleaned anyway.

 

[Ski]

If I may ask a crazy question . Do the older guys know when a certain doe in his territory is coming in heat?

Zero doubt in my mind. I plan my hunts around it with high enough success rate that it can't be coincidence.

 

[megalomaniac]

The first peak is associated with the peak of range shift. New bucks somewhat unfamiliar with new territory do a bit of exploring to figure out where everything is (bedding, food, does, travel routes)

 

[nate17]

Nearly every mature buck that I was tracking this year daylighted on October 31 or November 1. Most were on a scrapes, but in one instance, I believe the doe actually came into heat based on the change in travel patterns (the doe was a regular afternoon visitor) and the amount of mature bucks that showed up at a water source in daylight nearby. There had to have been chasing for the multiple bucks to be at the water. The deer remember it, know it from hormonal changes, are biologically programmed to do that, maybe a combination of all of the above. Are there deeper reasons? Possibly. I don't know and not sure if it matters for me. I like to hunt mature bucks and these couple days it is somewhat predictable for them make a mistake. Either way there is a trigger associated with the rut for them to expose themselves in daylight with or without a doe on these couple of days.

The first hot doe I can actually confirm in person this year was on November 6th. I had a huge buck frantically searching in daylight on November 5th and hit 2 different cameras. I hunted on the 6th and had him and the doe bedded down the ridge from me about 150 yards. 4 additional 2/3 year old bucks circling like vultures.

P.S. I had trail camera pics this year of 2 different does being chased by multiple bucks in January. The last one being January 26th. I'd say that's somewhat unusual but we had a massive mast crop this year and might be connected to the availability of food and thus the health of the deer.

 

[BSK]

P.S. I had trail camera pics this year of 2 different does being chased by multiple bucks in January. The last one being January 26th. I'd say that's somewhat unusual but we had a massive mast crop this year and might be connected to the availability of food and thus the health of the deer.

A genetic component to estrus timing certainly exists in each doe. In the Southeast, environmental conditions can alter that timing somewhat, but each individual still has a basic date for estrus set in her DNA. At one time, I had a very distinguishable doe on my property (entire bridge of her nose was jet black) that when I started my summer baited census (I usually started August 1 with cameras over salt licks) would always still be VERY pregnant. For four years in a row, I picked her up heavily pregnant in August. She would drop her fawn in late August. No matter the environmental conditions, she just had mid-January estrus timing locked into her system, even though the rest of the does in the area had a mid-November estrus timing.

 

[BSK]

That article referenced goes into detail about that. It started with a genetic difference from when deer were moved here and the climate difference has not required that to change. In other words fawning can occur later without negative effects. That's what I gleaned anyway.

That article references some very good research on the topic. However, I'm not a total believer in the idea that the odd breeding dates in the Deep South a driven by where deer were restocked from in the early 20th Century. I say that because deer in TN were restocked from all over, and some of these stock locations have VERY different peak breeding dates. We had deer brought in from TX, NC and SC (both the mountain regions and the coastal regions which have very different peak breeding dates), and even MI and WI. If all those unique breeding dates held where those populations were released, we would have a hodge-podge of very different peak breeding dates scattered all over the state, with one county having a peak breeding in October while a neighboring county in December or January. But we don't. In fact, for most of the state, we have a smooth transition, with the earliest peak breeding in the northcentral and Nashville Basin area, and then slowly growing a few days later and increasing with distance moving east, south, and west from Nashville. The only big differences occur along the MS and AL lines, where peak breeding can be significantly later. A fairly smooth but also fairly rapid transition in dates occurs from Jackson towards Memphis, with dates moving into mid to late December near Memphis. This is not the pattern of "remnant DNA" controlled breeding dates. This is the pattern that would develop if a naturally occurring influence such as temperatures, timing of food sources, or something similar were the driving forces.

Now I have to admit, I have no idea why the insanely different dates occur in the Deep South (especially AL, MS, and LA). Some of those are crazy. But vastly different peak breeding in some parts of the South, such as the coastal regions of VA, NC, SC, as well as south FL and southern TX are easily explained by environmental conditions.