Deer biology — Rebuild populations each summer
PHOTOS BY GARRY BRANDENBURG — Summer is the time for wildlife species of all kinds to reproduce. The biological necessity to sustain populations is why they exist. With all the inherent obstacles to population growth, such as weather issues, predation, diseases, and the ability to adapt to living in close proximity to man-altered environments, Iowa wildlife populations will see numerous bursts of new life. For deer, just one example, fawns were born during June and are now learning what to eat or not, as they follow their mother in her daily discoveries. For male white-tail deer, antler growth will be a significant difference from the duties of doe deer. Antlers are one of the fastest growing elements for any of the deer family members; i.e. white-tail deer, mule deer, blacktail deer, moose, elk, and caribou. Each year new antlers (true bone) are grown after last year's antlers naturally fall off. Today's image of two buck deer, one large and one small, were made several years ago in mid July.
DEER are a common species of wildlife to observe. They may frequent backyard environments, urban or rural. Deer may be observed deep inside state or county parks as one hikes along trails. Those sightings may be fleetingly brief as the deer stealthily move away from people. Or deer may just stand their ground and let you pass nearby since they perceive they are hidden. In either case, a close encounter with a deer is entirely possible.
On the flip side of close observations, are those times when unexpected and unwanted close encounters happen when a deer runs across a roadway into the path of a vehicle. Many times these events are unavoidable.
So the best advice is for motorists to be well aware of deer bursting from roadside ditches across a roadway. Be prepared for anything. Most deer activity and incidents with motorists take place during sunset and evening times. Deer are more active during those times. Be aware and be careful.
Antlers on male deer are one of the fastest growing tissues in the wild animal world. Historical artifacts have been discovered across the globe of how ancient peoples learned how to utilize animal bones, and antler parts, as tools to help them survive.
Antlers are true bone. Antlers are not horns. Horns are not shed but continue to add material called keratin over the life of the animal.
Antlers however grow anew each spring and summer, reaching full growth by August. The outside tissue, called velvet due to its soft membrane covering, will stop supplying minerals to the underlying bone by the end of August or early September. Deer family members then rub off and scrape the velvet coverings away.
All these activities by male deer family members is in response to shorter day lengths. Changes in hormone levels dictate the status change of antler development and the subsequent mating season for deer species in late October and early November. Between early July and the end of
August to early September, antlered deer have a lot of antler growth happening. Each male deer is unique in its antler growth. First year buck that will be 1.5 years old this fall, may have small racks with a few points or many smaller points. As buck survive to be 2.5 years old, and then 3.5 or more, a general statement is that antlers will become larger in width, height and number of points. That is true until the deer is about 6.5 years old, if it survives that long. Between 5.5 and 6.5 years of age, bucks are fully mature body wise and thus for a corresponding antler maximum. After that, at ages 7.5 or more, a decline is more likely. Bucks have by that time fathered lots of fawns who now are the replacements within the gene pool.
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The holiday weekend of July 4 is still in our mindset. Lots of folks have a long weekend by taking off from work on Friday, July 5, to make a four day weekend. This corresponds with people traveling to vacation destinations near or far. It is a traditional holiday that celebrates
America’s Independence from the once dominating control of the King of England. It is good that America and its early American citizens were wise enough to resist the King of England’s dictates. With that thought in mind, let us journey a bit into the history of our Independence Day.
It was more than 250 years ago that our nation’s founders fought for freedom. It was a hard win, but America did win over tyranny and oppressive taxation. Personal liberty was at the core of this American story.
Today, personal liberty remains a great gift of our Independence. The year 1776 was when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Those signers were great visionaries, and even with their long range ideals for a new nation, probably could not have imagined how that document would lead eventually to some of the most precious public lands across America.
As the King of England wanted the colonists in America to remain under his control, and the lands of America under his control, those rambunctious Americans wanted freedom from the King. They wanted to determine their own destiny. The lands the King wanted to retain were not going to be allowed to happen. America’s lands were not going to be off limits just because the King of England said so.
Land in America was vast and to a large extent unexplored. Yes, the growing pains of our new nation were not without fault. We stumbled a bit but we also persevered over time to create a network of lands available for private ownership. In addition, some unique and special natural resources were recognized and set aside as public land. One tradition of our Independence Day celebrations involves Americans using public lands during this holiday.
At one time or another, you may have visited just one, or maybe many more, of America’s 424 national parks that span more than 84 million acres. In those special places one can find everything from deep forests, vast mountain ranges, immense canyonlands, scenic rivers,
wetlands and marshes or even tropical islands. The US Forest Service has designated campgrounds in many portions of their 188 million acres.
And if you have the desire to go exploring into true wilderness areas with a backpack, you can experience solitude inside 111 million acres of wilderness areas.
In addition, the US Fish and Wildlife Service administers 560 National Wildlife Refuges and 70 national fish hatcheries. These NWR areas, National Forests, Wilderness areas, and National Parks are on the federal side. State Parks, state forests areas, wildlife or fisheries areas, river and lake access locations add to the public lands of this nation. And in Iowa, county conservation natural resource sites are very close to home and widely used by a recreating public. Each state offers things unique to their respective locations, geological settings and special habitats. No matter what interests you, places to camp, hike, fish or hunt, explore with cameras or just to see for yourself, public lands offer a wide variety of biologically and scientifically unique places in America.
If you are outdoors this weekend using some form of public lands, do remember that these lands are open to all. Even though they are technically “free” to use, there are some strings attached. For starters, public lands in many cases had to be acquired somehow. That method may have been by gift or purchased. It costs money to buy lands that are deemed important to long range conservation goals. It costs money to maintain and manage public land. That is why national parks, state parks, and local recreation sites may have entrance fees, camping fees, or special situations to cover basic oversight requirements.
Hunting is just one very important and viable use each fall on certain public lands. Hunting requires licenses, maybe federal and state waterfowl stamps, habitat stamps, and other fees associated with the pursuit of big game animals. Fishing access points just do not happen. This is also an important point to be made that hunters and fishing advocates participate in funding many natural resource areas through the excise taxes they pay for firearms or archery gear, ammunition or arrows, fishing tackle of rods, reels, line and lures.
States participate with their own funds that compliment federal hunting and fishing gear allocations. Each state will get an annual amount reimbursed to them from gear sales portions based upon the number of hunting and fishing licenses sold. How a state uses its overall funding sources is how they end up making wildlife management and fisheries management goals, habitat improvements, outdoor recreation opportunities and facilities like shooting ranges, boat ramps and observation points over scenic sites.
A point that needs to be stressed is this: Even though hunters and fishermen are a key focus of funding for outdoor places, a vast majority of visitations by Americans to national, state or local public lands are made by people that never have or will purchase a hunting or fishing license.
Just know this: It is okay to use public lands, to share them, to celebrate them and cherish the fact they even exist. Just know also that public lands, like our freedom, are not free.
A word of thanks is due to the Outdoor Industry Communication Council (OICC) for the data they shared that I am allowed to share with you.
Have a happy July 4 weekend.
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Welcome to July, a new month. With half of the calendar year behind us, it is a time of deep summer and days getting shorter. Day length on July 1st was 15 hours 12 minutes for people living at 42 degrees north latitude. By July 31, we will have lost 44 minutes with a day length of 14 hours and 28 minutes.
This inevitable factor of our spherical earth orbiting the Sun has been playing out for 4.6 billion years. It will not be slowing down or changing. July 5th was the date called Aphelion, a mathematical calculation by astronomers of the farthest distance in earth’s orbit from the sun. In terms of miles, earth was 94.8 million miles from the Sun on July 5, 2024. On Dec. 15, that distance will be only 91.4 million miles.
July is the time for peak nesting activities of the state bird, the Goldfinch. July is more well known for its summer heat. However, for fishermen and fisher ladies, 80 percent of the fish in a stream will be found in only 20 percent of that stream.
One must learn to look in the right places to increase the success rates for catching fish. July is also the time for prairie flowers to begin showing their blossoms.
Insects will be focusing on pollen collection. Warm season prairie grasses will be putting a lot of energy into tall stems. leaves and eventually seed heads. On July 25, 1936, the state of Iowa recorded its highest heating day of 117 degrees in Logan and Atlantic.
However, on July 20, 1934, the air temperature hit 118F at Keokuk. As for the lowest July air temperatures, it has happened that the low 40s came to pass. Rule out nothing weather-wise during July.
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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology.
Contact him at: P.O. Box 96
Albion, IA 50005
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- PHOTOS BY GARRY BRANDENBURG — Summer is the time for wildlife species of all kinds to reproduce. The biological necessity to sustain populations is why they exist. With all the inherent obstacles to population growth, such as weather issues, predation, diseases, and the ability to adapt to living in close proximity to man-altered environments, Iowa wildlife populations will see numerous bursts of new life. For deer, just one example, fawns were born during June and are now learning what to eat or not, as they follow their mother in her daily discoveries. For male white-tail deer, antler growth will be a significant difference from the duties of doe deer. Antlers are one of the fastest growing elements for any of the deer family members; i.e. white-tail deer, mule deer, blacktail deer, moose, elk, and caribou. Each year new antlers (true bone) are grown after last year’s antlers naturally fall off. Today’s image of two buck deer, one large and one small, were made several years ago in mid July.
