Olin E. Rhodes, Jr.

Annual variation in breeding success among female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns on the Savannah River Plant (1967 to 1985) was determined from direct counts of pregnancy in spring-collected fawn females and evidence of lactation and measurements of udder thickness in fall-harvested 1.5-yearolds. Percent lactation in 1.5-year-old females collected during September and October gave the best estimate of fawn breeding in the previous year. The overall mean fawn breeding estimate from September and October was 41 %, and the yearly variation in fawn breeding was significant....

Data were taken on 1,103 pregnant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested from the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina from 1965-1985 to describe temporal, age specific, and habitat effects on fetal number. Time periods were thought to represent periods of high and low population density. Age was the most significant factor in altering fetal number both with and without the data from the fawns included. Low fetal numbers per doe in 0.5- and 1.5-year-old deer and a high incidence of twinning in the older deer was responsible for this effect. Mean number of fetuses per doe...