Fawn survival documented in southern Michigan

Wildlife research can be a long, time-consuming process, but having solid data on which to base management decisions is invaluable. Researchers from Michigan State University just published the first paper, examining fawn survival and use of space, after several years of research.

Survival and Space Use of Fawn White-tailed Deer in Southern Michigan appears in the April, 2008 issue of The American Midland Naturalist (http://www.nd.edu/~ammidnat/index.html), an academic journal published by the University of Notre Dame.

Authors Tim Hiller, Henry Campa III, and Scott Winterstein from Michigan State, and Brent Rudolph from the Michigan DNR found that very young fawns, from birth to two months-old, were very vulnerable to canid predation, and they preferred to use conifers and deciduous forest areas for cover. Predation and malnutrition were the most common causes of death in these very young deer, and almost 30 percent of the fawns studied died during this period. Canids predation (which can include coyote, fox and domestic dogs) are the most common cause of death. The death rates of these very young deer can have a great effect on potential adult deer populations.

The research involved three years of finding new fawns, examining them, attaching radio collars and then following them at various intervals for the next year, until the collar’s battery wears out and the collar falls off. Research of this type takes a lot of effort, time, and money, and after three years of field research and additional time in planning and analysis, this is the first of a series of papers that will be published.

This multi-year study was funded in part by Whitetails Unlimited, as part of WTU’s commitment to education and conservation. This is an investment that allows dedicated researchers to produce solid information that benefits game managers and regulators, and ultimately hunters in the field.