The NDA prides itself in keeping up with the latest in deer research and management and presenting that information to our members in easy-to-understand articles, videos, and podcast interviews.
Deer Science
Bucks of All Ages Succeed in the Wild Whitetail Rut. Yes, Even These.
Nov 29, 2023Lindsay Thomas Jr.
In the frenzied breeding scramble that is the whitetail rut, are bucks and does selective about the age of their mates, or is rut success random? The answer is: Yes. There’s scientific evidence that age…
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Deer Science
Strike 3 for the Myth of the Genetic “Cull Buck”
Nov 8, 2023Lindsay Thomas Jr.
The latest scientific attempt to improve wild deer antler genetics failed to find a practical method that works in the wild, but it helped shed more light on why the genetic “cull buck” remains elusive:…
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All Articles
All Articles
Deer Science
Can You Tell Bucks From Does by Their Droppings? Plus Other Deer Dung Data
Jun 28, 2023Kip 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…
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The Guts of Predatory Cats Can Destroy CWD Prions
Jun 21, 2023Lindsay 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…
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How Far Can a Deer Swim?
May 17, 2023Matt 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…
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CWD Roundup – May 2023
May 3, 2023Torin 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…
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Wild Pig Fertility Crushes Deer. Learn 5 Ways to Use It Against Them.
Mar 29, 2023Lindsay 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…
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Why Do Squirrels Gnaw on Shed Antlers?
Mar 22, 2023Karli 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…
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3 Promising New Ways to Detect CWD, Dead Deer Not Required
Mar 15, 2023Lindsay 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…
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8 Ways Deer Are the Opposite of What Many Hunters Think
Mar 8, 2023Lindsay 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…
