deer management - Wildlife Management Pro

Spike debate is still alive

Dr. James Kroll, Stephen F. Austin State University professor, argues that spikes should be removed from restrictive antler regulation if the goal is to protect young white-tailed bucks.

With requests from hunters and landowners in hand, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering another round of expansion of counties operating under special antler restrictions.

Already the rule in 61 counties statewide, the department is now considering expanding into 11 additional Pineywoods counties for the 2009-10 hunting season. Those on the current shortlist include Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, and Walker.

Under the regulation a legal buck is described as one with an inside spread of at least 13 inches or a spike. Hunters are restricted to just one of the larger bucks.

The goal of the regulation is to improve the age structure of the deer population by taking more pressure off the 1 1/2-year-old and 2 1/2-year-old bucks. It is, some would say, a case of the state getting neighboring landowners and hunters to do what the landowners and hunters can’t get each other to do. Continue reading Deer Management: The Spike Debate Continues

Wart found on the skin of white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family are properly termed fibromas. These fibromas are popularly referred to as skin tumors, or simply deer warts. Histopathologists identify skin tumors from whitetail as either papillomas, fibromas, or papillofibromas depending upon the predominate type of tissue making up the tumor.

There is evidence suggesting that the skin tumors and warts common to white-tailed deer are actually caused by one kind of virus, and that the differences that have been described for their appearance is due to age of the tumor in question. Obviously, a tumor that is 1 week old will look much different than a tumor that is 1 year old. However, for the purpose of the article, I will refer to all of them as collectively as fibroma. Continue reading Whitetail Deer Fibroma: Deer Warts