We marked fawns and adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on 2 south Texas areas during 1986-88. Deer sighted on repeated helicopter flights were evaluated to determine if the age ratio of sightings matched the known ratio of marked fawns-to-adults in the populations. There was a trend toward undercounting fawns on each area.
We evaluated how well observers in a helicopter classed male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) into groups ≤3.5 or ≥4.5 years old. Resightings of individually marked anti previously aged deer on 2 southern Texas ranches were used for evaluation during repeated helicopter surveys from 1986 to 1988. Classifications of marked males were at least ≥90% correct on 11 of 14 flights on 1 ranch and 6 of 14 on the other. Although accuracy was acceptable on many flights, some flights gave inaccurate estimates (> 10% misclassified) of male composition. Because managers make only a single,...
We assessed the accuracy of population estimates of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) determined from track counts by comparing them with aerial mark-recapture estimates on 2 southern Texas areas. Track counts produced very conservative estimates in relation to mark-recapture methods and failed to detect a population increase on 1 area. However, they reflected a large difference in density between the 2 areas.
The Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies presents papers that cover all aspects of the management and conservation of inland, estuarine, and marine fisheries and wildlife. It aims to provide a forum where fisheries and wildlife managers can find innovative solutions to the problems facing our natural resources in the 21st century.