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Deer Science

Which Deer Aging Technique is More Accurate, Jawbone or Cementum?

Sep 20, 2023 Kip Adams

There are two methods hunters can use to estimate the age of harvested deer, and both rely on deer teeth. There is a lot of misunderstanding, misapplication, and misinformation shared about these valuable deer management…

Deer Science

My Birthday Buck Had Upper Canine Teeth. Yes, Deer Fangs!

Sep 13, 2023 Cheyne Matzenbacher

Fangs on a whitetail? Yes, both whitetails and mule deer can sometimes grow small, upper canine teeth. I was aware of this rare phenomenon in deer, but I got some hands-on experience in fall 2022…

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Deer Science

Can You Tell Bucks From Does by Their Droppings? Plus Other Deer Dung Data

Jun 28, 2023 Kip Adams

Can you tell a whitetail buck from a doe by the shape or size of deer droppings? How many times a day does a deer poop? Great questions. The sex thing works for turkeys. Gobbler…

The Guts of Predatory Cats Can Destroy CWD Prions

Jun 21, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Chronic wasting disease prions are the Chuck Norris of infectious materials. Incinerating them at 1,112°F will only slightly degrade their infectivity, and you must hit 1,800°F to destroy them. They are just fine left out…

How Far Can a Deer Swim?

May 17, 2023 Matt Ross

We’ve all seen at least one of numerous amateur video clips floating around the Internet in which a boater or fisherman captures a deer doggy-paddling its four little hooves off so far from shore it…

CWD Roundup – May 2023

May 3, 2023 Torin Miller

CWD Roundup is the National Deer Association’s (NDA) bi-monthly update on all things chronic wasting disease (CWD). We’ll provide the latest updates on CWD spread, research and policy from across North America. Updates are provided…

Wild Pig Fertility Crushes Deer. Learn 5 Ways to Use It Against Them.

Mar 29, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

There’s a grim joke circulating among wildlife biologists who fought wild pigs and lost: “The average sow gives birth to eight piglets, and nine of them will survive.” Plug this fatalistic humor into a mathematical…

Why Do Squirrels Gnaw on Shed Antlers?

Mar 22, 2023 Karli Gill

If every buck in your woods and fields drops their antlers every winter, why isn’t the landscape littered with them? Why haven’t you walked a few steps into the trees and found not only this…

3 Promising New Ways to Detect CWD, Dead Deer Not Required

Mar 15, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Good news is scarce in the fight against chronic wasting disease, so I’m pleased that I have some to share. A series of new tools could give us the ability to detect CWD in deer…

8 Ways Deer Are the Opposite of What Many Hunters Think

Mar 8, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Using your common sense isn’t always a good method for understanding deer behavior and biology. It’s easy to believe deer move more on a full moon night because it makes common sense: They must be…

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