Deer fawns more likely to survive in agricultural landscapes than forest

Date: May 1, 2018

Source: Penn State

The cruel truth is that throughout the white-tailed deer's range only about half of all fawns live to see their first birthday -- most are killed by predators. However, they have a much better chance of surviving if they are born in farmland rather than in forest, according to Penn State researchers, who collaborated with Pennsylvania Game Commission deer biologists.

They estimated fawn survival in four different study areas in Pennsylvania. In addition, they combined fawn-survival estimates from published data from 29 deer populations in 16 states throughout North America to look at landscape patterns in fawn survival.

Read on  

Fawns use 'escape plan' to evade predators

Fawns often bypass the nearest "escape cover" to seek out better habitats for shaking off predators, new research has found.

Baby deer are more likely to survive if they use this selective technique rather than simply fleeing to the closest refuge.

The study in the journal Animal Behaviour, followed white-tailed deer fawns in the Great Plains of the US.

The fawns' behaviour was a surprise to the research team, they said.

"We expected them to look for cover as soon as possible and try to take that cover… (but) they actually went to a better cover rather than the first available," says Jonathan Jenks, distinguished professor of wildlife and fisheries sciences at South Dakota State University.

Fawns selecting grassland and wetland habitats to conceal themselves in were found to be more likely to evade predators such as coyotes, even if it meant them running greater distances to reach these terrains, the study said.

But those choosing forest sand wheat fields were more likely to be captured.

Read on:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18040372

New home for three orphaned fawns

Three young fawns, orphaned after their mothers were shot by poachers in Norfolk for their valuable meat, have found a new home.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8150696.stm