Seasonal Activity Patterns of White-Tailed Deer in Eastern South Dakota

Abstract

Seasonal activity patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were studied intensively along a 15-mile stretch of the Big Sioux River and less intensively on an expanse of 1,100 square miles in central eastern South Dakota from February, 1964, to March, 1966. Thirty-three deer were marked individually with ear tags, streamers, and collars, and 461 locations were recorded. Five of these deer were tracked by radio-telemetry. For adult and yearling deer, average total area ranges in square miles were: summer, 1.0 + 0.5; fall, 0.7 ? 0.3; winter, 2.7 ? 1.7. For the same deer, maximum linear ranges in miles were: summer, 1.7 ? 0.5; fall, 1.8 ? 0.4; winter, 2.5 ? 0.9. No significant differences (P> 0.05) were found for total area or maximum linear ranges between seasons, or among adults, yearlings, and fawns in winter. Total linear ranges for deer observed in more than one season averaged 12.0 + 2.2 miles for males, and 11.1 ? 2.1 miles for females. These ranges were not significantly different (P > 0.05). In early January, discrete herds of up to 80 animals began to form. Some herds wintered in fairly well-defined areas, but up to 30 percent of the deer population remained widely scattered all winter and deer moved up to 12 miles between herds. Instability of winter herds ruled out the use of winter herd counts as an accurate population index. When the thaw occurred in March or April, deer dispersed in several directions at varying rates with a predominance of northward movements along the Big Sioux River and its tributaries. Average distance between winter and summer ranges for six deer was 14.4 + 1.5 miles. The deer population was partially migratory in that it used all of the study area in summer but withdrew to a small part of it in winter. The home-range pattern of deer included one or more sub-areas which provided all habitat needs. When these requirements were disturbed, depleted, or changed, deer moved to a new sub-area. Data from this study indicated that deer management units, if they could be administered effectively, might better be based on natural drainages than on counties. The history of white-tailed deer populations in eastern South Dakota parallels that of deer in much of the Great Plains region (Cook 1945). Before 1900, destruction of habitat and unregulated hunting reduced deer numbers to near extinction. About 1925, aided by protection from hunting, remnant populations of deer began to grow and reappear in parts of their old range. In 1947, four counties east of the Missouri 1A joint contribution from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, South Dakota State University, U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and Wildlife Management Institute through the South Dakota Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit and supported in part by Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration funds, Project South Dakota W-75-R-6, 7, 8. 2 Present address: Missouri Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Columbia. 3Present address: Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, North Dakota. 420 River were opened to the first deer hunting season in 26 years (Popowski 1962:2), and in 1959 a regular annual season was begun in all 44 counties. A growing population of both deer and hunters has created a need for more intensive management of the deer herd. This study was conducted from February, 1964, through March, 1966, to provide basic information for deer management in eastern South Dakota. The objectives were to: (1) determine the distribution of deer and the extent of their daily and seasonal movements on key areas in various habitat types of eastern South Dakota; (2) identify the principal factors influencing deer distribution and movements; (3) determine the feasibility of using a census of winter deer herds as a population index. The assistance of D. R. Progulske in planning and implementing the study and This content downloaded from 207.46.13.127 on Wed, 12 Oct 2016 04:30:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ACTIVITY OF DEER IN SOUTH DAKOTA * Sparrowe and Springer 421 in reviewing this manuscript is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are due the employees of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks for their advice and for their aid in reporting deer sightings. R. C. Drewien, R. L. Drieslein, G. L. Geis, W. K. Pfeifer, and Mrs. R. Sparrowe helped with field work.