On June 4, 2013, Male 8917 did something strange for a deer: he took a long, purposeful walk.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University captured and GPS collared the adult male that spring in a Pennsylvania forest. If you put a tracker on most deer, you’ll find that they stay close to your area, and so did Male 8917. But on that June day, he walked a mile straight to the top of a ridge, where he passed the afternoon before walking directly home.
Then, in 2015, Macho 8917 died—unsurprising given that he was about 4 years old. What surprised researchers was the location where he died: that same ridge he had visited only once in the two years he wore the tracking collar.
Researchers have no explanation for Male 8917’s strange visit, but it is an example of the unexpected behaviors they observe while paying close attention to the hoofed mammals, which are found so frequently in the North American landscape that people often notice them. often take them for granted.
These findings are derived from the Deer-Forest Study. Now in its 10th year, the study has tracked more than 1,200 white-tailed deer across 100 square miles of forest. It aims to be the most comprehensive effort ever to understand the most widespread large animals in North America, and the impact they have on forests.
Research has revealed an interconnection between deer health and fluctuating nutrients in forest vegetation.
But a decade of spying on deer has also yielded curious data. Scientists have shared this “serendipitous research,” as they call it, posting more than 700 posts on the Deer-Forest Study blog. They’ve detailed everything from how much slime deer produce per day (7.5 liters) to what happens when a deer returns to the woods after a collision with a car (if you’re lucky, it limps, but perseveres). Some entries, such as the one about Macho 8917’s death walk, have attracted many readers.
As their numbers increase, deer live closer to humans, which means fewer predators, but also greater vigilance. “If you’re always attentive and alert, you have less time to eat,” said Duane Diefenbach, an ecologist at Pennsylvania State and co-director of the project.
Hunters play an important role in the study. Hunting them helps researchers see how the landscape responds. Each year, participating hunters are asked to complete a survey describing their experiences and observations. The team has gained new insights into how deer survive (or don’t) the hunting season, including how attuned they are to hunting pressure.
An example is Female 8921, also known as Hill Female. The afternoon before hunting season, while the humans scoured the forest looking for a place to settle, the Female of the Hill was looking for her own place. He decided on the steepest hill in his territory.
At 4 a.m. on the first day of hunting, the Hill Lady was lying in her safe space, as if someone had “sent her a text message saying deer season was about to start,” Diefenbach wrote. later on the blog.
Over the next few days, the deer sheltered there again and again, its behavior reflecting the schedule of the hunters searching for it. While they stayed still in her hunting blinds, she stayed still in her blind. Once the forest emptied, the Hill Female wandered through the forest.
The Deer-Forest Study team plans to continue through 2026, and Jeannine Fleegle, a Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist who works on the blog, hopes to upload more posts.
“What good is the work we do if we can’t share it in a way that people understand?” he said. “Vegetation and soil chemistry? Not very fun. “So we got on the back of the deer.”
By: ASHLEY STIMPSON
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6961352, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-10-30 19:00:06
#interconnection #deer #health #vegetation