Mortality of White-tailed Deer Fawns in the Wichita Mountains, Comanche County, Oklahoma, Part II

Abstract

The purpose of this study is primarily to detennine the direct and possible indirect factors causing mortality of white-tailed deer fawns in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Specific objectives include (1) documentation of doe-fawn behavior, movements, and productivity rates; (2) identification of specific causes of mortality; (3) determination of the influence of capture, marking, and subsequent monitoringtechniques on fawn mortality; (4) description of intra- and interspecific competition between deer and other ungulates, and its impact on deer productivity; and (5) formulation of a management strategy for the Comanche County deer herd. This project is designed to supplement and clarify information compiled in a doctoral study completed by G. W. Garner in 1976. Two techniques of marking and monitoring radio-collared fawns, (1) col or-marking, radio-collaring, and daily observation versus (2) radio-collaring and daily triangulation only, were used to observe the effects of human disturbance on fawn mortality, movement, and home range use. Observations of marked does, marked fawns, unmarked deer, and other ungulates were recorded to provide information on inter- and intraspecific competitors of white-tailed deer for fawning habitat. Habitat characteristics o:f fawn bedsites were also evaluated.