9th International Deer Biology Congress

AUTHORS: Greg Simons, Wildlife Systems and Wildlife Consultants

ABSTRACT: White-tailed deer (deer) have long been recognized as the most popular and economically important game species in the USA. In recent decades, as the appetite for deer hunting increased, the intensity of the tools used to manage deer herds in many states grew, as well. The continuum of deer management practices is broad, ranging from what could be described as traditional practices on one end of the continuum, to extreme practices on the other end of the continuum. Emphasis on growing bigger antlers to supply hunting markets has been the impetus behind the integration of some of the more extreme practices into commercial deer hunting programs. Some of these practices include captive propagation of deer in small pens, line breeding strategies, artificial insemination, sexing of semen, use of various performance enhancing medicaments, embryo transfer, and bottle-feeding fawns. Though these practices have pushed antler sizes that now exceed 600” on the Boone & Crockett measuring system, there has also been a degree of chaos that has been created among the hunting community due to many of these extreme practices being perceived as controversial and antagonistic to the greater good of hunting and wildlife conservation. Further, there are also concerns that some of these controversial practices lead to erosion of support for hunting by the non-hunting community. All of this does beg the question of whether there are points along the deer management continuum that yield diminishing returns, resulting in decreased participation in deer hunting, decreased support for hunting, decreased financial economies associated with deer and deer hunting, and compromised sustainability of conservation funding that benefits all terrestrial wildlife in this country.

AUTHORS: Masahiro Ohnishi, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

ABSTRACT: The hunting culture in Japan began 16,000 years ago during the Jomon Era. Archeologists found that a series of paintings on potteries that demonstrated people hunting deer and boars with arrows and bows. At the end of the Jomon Era, people had slowly developed the croplands, grazing, and harvesting food resources aside from the shorelines. The proportion of the food resources still distributed from hunting, agriculture, and shells from the shorelines, but eventually croplands and grazing became more dominant to produce the sustainable food resources over centuries (Kaji et al. 2013). As demands increased, agricultural productions, the predator control toward wild animals, such as Japanese wolves (Canis lupus), became more intensive and caused the species to become extinct in the early 20th century. The Sika deer (Cervus nippon) populations in Japan positively responded to the absence of their predator animals. Overharvesting deer through a lack of strict harvest regulations and low survival rates of individuals due to the severe winters caused deer populations to decline between 1960 and 1980 (Kaji et al. 2013). The revised harvest regulations protected the female deer populations and contributed to the increases in the population growth across Japan. However, sika deer populations were able to adjust their fitness to different habitat types and their strong adaptability resulted in an overabundance again. Sika deer populations have increased rapidly and negatively affect other species, vegetation communities, and human activities. Due to the unique culture and geography, local biologists have been developing specific overabundant deer management strategies for their specific regions. Sharing information regarding the history of sika deer management methods will provide biologists with unique insights. This symposium talk will demonstrate deer management strategies and policies to enhance research and the management of this overabundant species.

AUTHORS: Trinidad Benavides Garcia, Asociacion Nacional de Ganaderos Diversificados y Criadores de Fauna (ANGADI)

ABSTRACT: ANGADI It is the Mexican Association of owners of private properties, ejidos and communal lands, dedicated to the conservation, management and sustainable use of the resources of the flora and fauna that is developed and produced on their lands as well as people interested in knowing and participate in what refers to diversified Livestock. The mission of ANGADI is to disseminate, promote and support knowledge, conservation and sustainable use of wildlife (flora and fauna) as a fundamental pillar of the ecological and socio-economic cultural heritage of Mexico, and holders of properties where this it is developed through the rural production model based on the Diversified Livestock. Our commitment is to conserve Mexico's biodiversity and take advantage of opportunities for economic diversification for the rural sector, help the federal government through the Diversified Livestock model to the production of sustainable use of wildlife, as well as in the application of the General Law of Wildlife, instrument that was requested by the ANGADI and promulgated by the congress of the union in the year 2000. Currently, ANGADI is the most important organization in Mexico of producers of wildlife, and congregates over one thousand five hundred owners and holders of "Units of Management for the Conservation of Wildlife (UMAS)", which cover about 10 million hectares of natural habitats where more than 70 species of wildlife of hunting interest and more than a thousand species of non-hunting wildlife are present, White-tailed deer is the most important game species in the country. For its efficient operation, ANGADI has State Delegations in Aguascalientes, Baja California, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas.

AUTHORS: Steve Demarais, Harry A. Jacobson, and Bronson K. Strickland – Deer Ecology and Management Laboratory, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University

ABSTRACT: The white-tailed deer is the most widely distributed and recreationally hunted large mammal in the United Stated. It is present in 46 of 50 states and provides many billions of dollars in recreational value and financial support to management agencies via sale of hunting licenses. Management focuses on optimizing recreational harvest while considering conflicting land uses and human safety. Management goals and intensity of effort vary greatly by state and landowner, but include: 1) male-biased harvest, which leads to a young male age structure and unbalanced adult sex ratio, 2) quality deer management, which includes protecting younger males, and 3) trophy management, which includes protecting males until maturity. Antler-based harvest restrictions are a widely used regulatory approach to protect younger males from harvest. Interest in habitat management and/or providing supplemental nutrition increases with management intensity.  Harvest rate of females is a function of management goals, regional soil quality, land use, and predator communities. Human safety concerns in urban areas related to vehicle-deer collisions and prevalence of Lyme Disease increase interest in density reduction. The expansion of Chronic Wasting Disease across much of the United States complicates management efforts.            

AUTHORS: J. Alfonso Ortega-S., Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville; Jorge G. Villarreal G., Consejo Estatal de Flora y Fauna de Nuevo Leon

ABSTRACT: White-tailed deer was almost extinct in Mexico in the 1970’s because of excessive harvesting and other problems like the screwworms. One of the major challenges for wildlife sustainability in general is the impact of the growth of the population on the environment; most of the landscapes in Mexico have been modified to be used by humans. Habitat deterioration and fragmentation is one of the most important problems for wildlife sustainability. Approximately, 70% of the country shows some level of desertification and 50% of the original plant communities have been lost. Introduction of exotic grasses such as buffelgrass (Penisetum ciliare) to improve forage productivity for feeding domestic animals is an activity that negatively affects habitat for wildlife species. However, introduction of exotic grasses will continue for as long as livestock production remains an important economic activity. Information to determine the middle point to optimize cattle production and wildlife is necessary to implement management programs to achieve this objective. Some examples of successful habitat and wildlife restoration in cattle operations include the case of the “Cuenca Palo Blanco” in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, where owners of 130,000 ha comprised of 51 management units were organized to manage habitat, cattle, and wildlife with specific objectives and have shown excellent results. The awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation in Mexico has increased, however, education efforts focusing on land owners, managers, wildlife professionals, as well as politicians and government employees that participate in policy development and wildlife conservation decisions is crucial. Natural resources education from elementary to high school need to be considered in education programs to develop conservation principles in the new generations. The need for wildlife professionals is unquestionable, one of the main reasons for this is the lack of institutions offering degrees in wildlife management, some universities in the country in an attempt to solve this problem offer some specific courses in wildlife management, which is good but not enough. In terms of generation of knowledge, many of the basic questions pointed out by Leopold in the 50’s  still valid especially in tropical regions even when in the last 25 years the understanding and interest for conservation and sustainable wildlife management has increased dramatically. Groups of researchers in different areas of the country continue working on specific regional problems on wildlife management and the efforts to build strong relationships among institutions to solve common problems are commendable, however, a stronger and stable support is needed to consolidate these relationships.

AUTHORS: E. Alejandro Lozano-Cavazos, Departamento de Recursos Naturales Renovables, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Saltillo, Coahuila, México

ABSTRACT: White-tailed deer represents a huge income in terms of hunting and recreation enterprises, especially in northern Mexico. However, the cultural, ecological and technological issues in different regions in Mexico have a different effect on conservation and management of the species.
Most of the 14 white-tailed deer subspecies are located in central and south regions of Mexico where poverty is more accentuated. Additionally, the northern Mexico region has acquired more experience in terms of population and habitat management techniques for white-tailed deer because of the proximity of the United States and the fact that some of the white-tailed deer subspecies are sharing distribution ranges between USA-Mexico borders.

This is the case of Texas white-tailed deer which is present on most of the southern part of Texas and northeastern Mexico represented by the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Even when white-tailed deer conservation and management in northeastern region is more advanced as compared to western states in northern Mexico, gaps of knowledge exist in conservation and management of the species.

At the national level, Mexico possesses wildlife management units called UMA´s, which is wildlife utilization scheme that promotes conservation, management and proper level of harvest of game species. However, this scheme has been criticized because it does not consider the proper space scale of management to avoid the “tragedy of the commons”, especially in very small UMA´s.

The lack of use of ecological sound management techniques such as prescribed fire has been underestimated to improve the habitat for white tailed deer. In this regard, in the United States, the use of fire as ecological tool has been used for many years as habitat management technique for multiples species of wildlife. However, in Mexico, the prescribed fire has not been used extensively and it is being used just as prevention of wildfires without specific goasl for game species management and, the time of utilization is restricted to fall and winter seasons. The validation of this technique in different ecoregions such as Chihuahuan desert, Sonora desert and Tamaulipan thornscrub must be evaluated to know the effect of this tool to improve white tailed deer habitat.

Another important issue that is threatening the conservation of native genetics of white tailed deer subspecies, especially in northeaster Mexico is the fact of the introduction of “northern blood lines” as a strategy to improve the B&C scores, and thus, losing the native genetic of WTD subspecies. Mexico have tremendous opportunities to use management techniques to improve white-deer conservation and management and to promote the sport hunting heritage in North America.

AUTHORS: Hiroyuki Uno, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hokkaido Research Organization

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic activities have influence on wild animal populations. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan currently face no predators because Japanese wolves (Canis lupus), the only predator for deer, became extinct, in 1890 in Hokkaido Island and in 1905 in Honshu Island, through the intensive predator control against livestock loss [1]. A combination of severe winter conditions and overexploitation of deer due to the consumptions of furs, meats, and antlers contributed to the deer population decline in the late 19th century [2]. However, the harvest regulations, including restricting female harvests, between 1950s and 1980s ameliorated the population decline. The deer populations also positively responded to the additional food availabilities from the expansion of farmlands, pastures, and plantations which were developed near their habitats during the same period. As a result, the distribution of deer habitats and their abundance have greatly recovered since the 1980s [3]. Even though the restoration of deer populations was successful, deer were subjected to nuisance animals causing severe damage to agriculture, forestry, and regional ecosystems. Therefore, evaluating deer populations is important information to the sika deer management. I constructed records including hunter populations and captured deer populations in Japan from 1975 to 2014. The hunter population in Japan from 1975 to 2014 has decreased from 518,000 to 194,000 (Fig.1). On the other hand, the number of captured deer individuals between 1975 and 2014 has increased from 15,000 to 586,000. We developed the harvest-based Bayesian model to estimate the deer population [4]. Estimated population size in 2015 was 3,040,000 [5]. Sika deer populations have increased in last three decades. The unmanaged deer populations can generate negative effects on the agriculture, forestry, and ecosystem. Hunting and/or culling is a tool for resource management and ecosystem conservation. Encouraging the recruitment of hunters and establishing the culling regimes are important for wildlife implications in Japan.