Differences In Age Structure Of White-Tailed Deer In Mississippi Produced By Two Aging Techniques

Two hundred twelve white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were aged by tooth wear and replacement and by sectioning the incisors. Aging by cementum annuli placed 67.8% of the animals in an older age class, 7.2% in a younger age class, and 24.9% in the same age class as aging by wear and replacement. Of deer with 3 cuspid 3rd premolars aged by cementum annuli, 17.3% were aged as 1.5 years, 69.2% as 2.5 years, 9.6% as 3.5 years, and 3.8% as 4.5 years. Five fawns were aged as 1.5 years by the annuli technique. Aging by cementum annuli produced a significantly older age structure than that produced by wear and replacement aging (p