Behavioral responses of white-tailed deer subjected to lethal management

Abstract

Currently, the most effective and cost-efficient mechanism for controlling overabundant white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) is lethal removal, most commonly controlled hunting and sharpshooting. Deer subjected to such efforts may behave differently during removal and remaining deer may alter behaviors, potentially limiting future efficacy of removal efforts. Our objectives were to quantify changes in deer distribution in response to controlled hunting and sharpshooting. We immobilized two sample populations of 20 deer (one enclosed and one free-ranging) in central New Jersey, USA, and fitted them with global positioning system collars. The free-ranging herd experienced 11 days of controlled hunting, reducing density from 78 to 27 deer/km². We subjected the enclosed herd to a 7 day sharpshoot, reducing density from 83 to 7 deer/km². Hunted deer increased mean home ranges during removal, while deer exposed to sharpshooting did not. Collared doe–doe home-range overlap increased postsharpshoot, suggesting increased social interaction. Behaviors of hunted deer were directly affected by the human threat, while behavioral changes of deer exposed to sharpshooting were linked to population reduction. In the absence of an intact matrilineal social group, unrelated does will seek each other out in what appears to be an inherent need to be social.