Telemetrically Determined Movements Of Two White-Tailed Deer Fawns In Southwestern Alabama

While studying deer movements in the floodplain of the Mobile River in southwestern Alabama, two fawns (of different ages) were radio-instrumented and their movements compared. The interim of the study period was from December, 1967 until July, 1968. A spotted fawn (between I and 2 months old) that was radio-tracked had a home range comparable to that of adult deer in the area, but diel movements were much less. Another fawn (approximately 4 months old) and her mother were captured and instrumented with radio transmitters at the same time. During the first 16 days of intensive tracking (39 locations of each deer) they were never located together. For the remainder of the study period, they were located together 22 out of 23 times. Even though the two deer were separated during most of the tracking period, the fawn's home range was only slightly smaller than the dam's. Both ranges were in the same area, about the same shape, oriented in the same direction, and diel movement parameters of these deer were practically identical. This similarity of range even though they were separated 40 out of 62 times, seems to indicate that home range familiarity can be conveyed from one generation to another, and in a relatively short time (under 4 to 5 months of age).

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57
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63
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52238