Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

The Fort Knox Military Reservation began to show signs of overbrowsing eight years after stocking with white-tailed deer (Odicoileua virginianus). Data collected annually on the reservation's deer herd during the deer hunting season indicated a rapid decline of the deer's physical condition as the wintering population increased from 5,500 to 9,000 over the period 1962-1965 and the deer range became overpopulated. Average dressed weights of yearling bucks and fawns decreased 16-18% while those of yearling does decreased 11% from 1958-1965. Average antler beam diameters of yearling bucks deteriorated 18% and "spiked" yearlings increased from 10% to 24% from 1960 to 1965. The reproductive rate dropped 47% from 1960 to 1965. Selective buck hunting during conservative "any deer" seasons reduced the buck:doe ratio among wintering deer from 106:100 in 1962 to 68:100 in 1966.

Feeding trials, in which ten white-tailed deer fawns, five bucks and five does, were fed a balanced ration, were conducted over an 18-month period. The commercially available ration which contained not less than 13.0 per cent protein or 2.0 percent crude fat and not more than 9.5 percent crude fiber or 4.8 percent minerals was fed ad libitum. Daily food consumption of each deer was recorded to the nearest ounce and weight of each deer was determined at weekly intervals to the nearest pound. Analysis of the data indicated that seasonal variation in food consumption and body weight of the experimental deer was statistically significant at the one percent level of probability. Sex by season interaction in food consumption was highly significant. Buck deer averaged 10 percent weight loss and doe deer averaged a three percent weight loss during the second winter of the study.

An evaluation of published work on the deer track count census method indicates the popularly used 1:1 relationship between tracks across roads and number of deer on an area can be neither rejected nor accepted. The day-to-day variability in deer track crossings usually requires a large number of consecutive counts to detect changes in populations. Procedures for determining the required number of counts are presented. A perennial problem confronting game technicians is that of obtaining an accurate population census of wildlife. The deer track count method, commonly employed in the coastal plain of the Southeast, is a census technique that is in obvious need of careful analysis and possible refinement. A critical evaluation is required to determine its limitations as an estimator of animal numbers or to relegate it to more appropriate uses, if possible, such as an index to population changes or as a "show me" type indicator of animal presence.

Daily and seasonal variations in drinking habits of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were observed in the Coastal Bend area of Texas. Data were collected from February, 1961, to February, 1963, on the Welder Wildlife Refuge. Information regarding drinking behavior was collected by observing deer directly from observation towers located near lakes or water tanks and by making track counts on a cleared, 10-foot wide strip surrounding the water tanks. Both direct observations and track counts were made at all hours throughout the 24-hour period and at all seasons of the year. The following inferences regarding drinking activities can be made from my data. (I) Deer use any water available, but prefer that which is not within fenced enclosures. (2) Deer drink more often in hot seasons than in cold. (3) Peaks of drinking activity are at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4-6 p.m. (4) Deer do not have a specific time of drinking in relation to feeding.

Rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum) , yaupon (!lex vomitoria), common greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) , and yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) are major sources of deer food in upland pinehardwood forests of the South. In the study reported here, the quality of forage on these plants was related to their rate of growth. Rusty blackhaw is a deciduous shrub; yaupon, an evergreen shrub; greenbrier, a deciduous vine; and yellow jessamine, an evergreen vine. The plants studied were growing near Nacogdoches in east-central Texas in a well-stocked pine-hardwood timber stand. Shortleaf and loblolly pines dominated the overstory. The understory contained a multilayered assortment of hardwoods and shrubs. The study area had not been burned or grazed by livestock for at least 10 years. The soil is fine sandy loam with good surface and internal drainage.

White-tail deer (Odecoileus vi'1'Uinianus) were collected on twelve different areas of Alabama to obtain reproductive data. The earliest average conception date was December 4 for Black Warrior Management Area in north Alabama where there was some breeding as early as November 10. Latest average conception date was February 11 for Fred T. Stimpson Sanctuary in south Alabama where some breeding occurred as late as March 21. Conception dates are thought to be influenced by the genetic stock. Fetal sex ratios were nearly 60/50 on all areas. Production per adult doe varied from 2.0 fawns on Barbour Management Area to 1.1 in Baldwin County.

It is recognized that there are a number of ways that industrial lands can be administered to develop the wildlife resources and at the same time provide a recreational opportunity for the public. Gulf States Paper explored a number of these possibilities and we fully realize what has worked successfully for us may not for other industries. The Corporation was founded in 1884, in Marseilles, Illinois, by Herbert Eugene Westervelt. After 44 years of growth and expansion the home office was established in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In the late 40's and early 50's improved conservation protective systems in Alabama began to show promising results in the rapid build up of game populations. Because of the unique nature of the Alabama trespass laws requiring that one obtain written permission to enter upon the lands of others, and the great increase in the numbers of people requesting this permission, the corporation was forced to employ a permit system.

For 20 years or more, there has been concern about increasing hunting pressure and decreasing hunting land. The U. S. Department of Agriculture has attempted to lessen this problem and decrease surpluses of farm products at the same time by subsidizing conversion of agricultural land to recreation land. Recreation is booming. Boaters, fishermen and water skiiers are crowding lakes faster than the Corps of Engineers can build them. New bowling alleys were built in nearly every town of any size, and cowpastures are being turned into golf courses every month. Hunters, though, are decreasing. After the first few days of the season, it is hard to find enough hunters for our biological samples in Kentucky. Even the public hunting areas are often deserted. We have fewer hunters than we had nine years ago. Our income from game is only about five percent higher than it was in 1957. Since the wildlife profession exists primarily to serve hunters, this is a disturbing situation.

Since we are entering an era of human management in the natural resources field in America, a game manager must emerge to meet the challenge of public relations in modern game management. He must have the natural ability, combined with professional training to manage people with one hand in order that they will permit hini to scientifically manage their wildlife resources with the other. A smooth working relationship must be constantly maintained with both his internal and external publics if he is to successfully mold their opinions and lead them in the cause of game management. Those who are responsible for his professional training will have to envision the need for his contribution before he can fully emerge. Furthermore, it will be necessary for his field supervisors to allow him ample liberty in the execution of his professional services before he can· succeed.

A swamp rabbit life history study was conducted in Alabama during 1960-1967. Of 438 swamp rabbits taken by hunters on Wheeler National Waterfowl Refuge in northern Alabama during February, 205 (46 percent) were males. In a sample of 64 others collected statewide throughout the year, 29 (45.3 percent) were males. Late winter weights are presented for 322 swamp rabbits examined in north Alabama. Based on implantation sites or corpora lutea counts, the mean size of 95 first swamp rabbit litters of the season was 2.863. The mean size of 17 second litters of the year was 3.176. No significant differences were found between the size of litters from different latitudes or within different litter sequences. The onset of the swamp rabbit breeding season is well defined in northern Alabama, usually starting in mid-February, and slightly preceding the onset of the cottontail breeding season.

An analysis was made of 1132.5 square feet of forest litter collected during the late winter in a bottomland hardwood forest area of the Mississippi Delta. A seed cleaner and a Trier sampler were used to separate food items from litter trash and derive a quantitative estimate. Food available to the turkey averaged 135 Ibs. per acre. Sugarberry seeds made up one-half of the entire amount. The next two most abundant items found were insect galls, 22.5 Ibs., and grape, 19.6 Ibs. The food items most commonly found in analysis of wild turkey crops and droppings were those usually appearing in the least quantity in the litter analysis. Pecan, animal matter, spice bush, and wild grape were the food items most frequently eaten by the wild turkey. The main purpose of this study was to determine the quantity of food available for the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) prior to the nesting season in a bottomland hardwood area in the Mississippi Delta.

Band recovery locations of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) banded in Florida are discussed in regard to ,the Canada goose decline in Florida and other southeastern states. Flock inventories of traditional wintering areas in the South and newly-established mid-continent wintering sites are reported. Limited data indicate refuges with grain farming located along migration routes have intercepted Canada geese enroute to their ancestral wintering areas. The resulting problems are stressed. * * * * * The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 1967 winter waterfowl survey reports the highest Canada goose population in history (Gottschalk 1967). For nearly a half century, most goose concentrations have consistently increased, but certain wintering flocks in the South have dwindled. Only remnant flocks remain along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from South Carolina to Texas. If this decline continues, these flocks will probably perish by 1975.

The widespread use of road counts in estimating population trends emphasizes the need for information on factors influencing animal behavior patterns. The present study, conducted on the Atomic Energy Commission Savannah River Plant in South Carolina, attempted .to relate the atmospheric variables of Temperature, Relative Humidity, Vapor Pressure Deficit, and Barometric Pressure to numbers of rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) seen during morning and evening activity peaks along a specially selected 30-mile route. The route was driven twice in each 24-hour period from July 31 to September 4, 1964. Sling psychrometer readings were taken at five permanent points along the route each time it was counted and the averages converted to the appropriate variables by use of the U. S. Department of Commerce Psychrometric Table No. 235. Barometric pressure was obtained at the beginning of each peak activity period from the U. S. Department of Commerce Weather Bureau at Augusta, Georgia.

A ten-year study of the reaction and adaptability of the introduced Aoudad sheep (Ammotragus lervia) in the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas was begun in the winter of 1957-58. At that time, forty-two sheep from the McKnight Ranch, Picacho, New Mexico, were released into the halfmillion acre Palo Duro Canyon. The exotic sheep were introduced into the canyon to fill a separate ecological niche and to share the vast reaches of the canyon, noncompetitively, with native mule deer. The aoudad, a hardy big game animal, was to become a real challenge to sportsmen in the rugged terrain of the Palo Duro Canyon. The first six years of the study were spent in trying to determine an adequate census technique, habitat preference, reproduction, and sheep movement studies. In the seventh year after the aoudad sheep release, an adequate population was thought to be present in order to have a limited experimental hunt.

A new hypnotic agent which is especially potent in birds was tested on free-feeding wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Florida by oral administration on baits. One hundred thirteen were narcotized sufficiently to be captured. At the optimum dosage (4 grams of powdered drug per cup of bait) the first evidences of narcosis were noted almost immediately and some turkeys were captured within 3 minutes after beginning to feed. Narcosis wore off after 8 hours even in the more heavily drugged individuals. Mortality from overdosage was less than 3 per cent at optimum dosage levels. The new drug is clearly superior in narcotic qualities to alpha-chloralose but it is so distasteful to turkeys that they often refused to eat it.

Secobarbital sodium, methohexital sodium, methoxymol, and alphachloralose were used in field experiments to capture mourning doves (Zena1:dura macroura) in Florida during 1966 and the spring or 1967. A total of 240 doves was caught. The four drugs are compared and the best dosage for each is given. Methoxymol proved superior to the others.

Since January 1965 approximately one hundred feral swine (Sus scrota) have been captured with alpha-chloralose on whole corn at bait Bites intended for wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). A series of experiments on penned feral and domestic hogs was conducted to determine minimum and maximum dosages of alpha-chloralo~e and preferred baits for the safe capture of free-ranging hogs. A method to capture feral hogs with alpha-chloralose applied to baits is described. During the past several years feral hogs have become increasingly more important as game animals in Florida, especially on public hunting areas. This has led to increased emphasis on trapping them from refuges and areas where they are not wanted, for rele~.~e in public hunting areas. Hogs are well known as pests in many situations and this problem has become more acute in agricultural areas and some national forests and parks recently.

The radioactive isotope, 65Zn was fed and injected into rabbits, opossums, foxes, and bobcats. When injected, 65Zn was detectable in feces from these animals for over a year after injection. The radioactive zinc present in the fecal pellets is also very stable to weathering. The injection of 65Zn is an excellent technique for long-term marking of feces in censusing, home range, and migration studies. Public health dangers, although largely imaginary, seriously limit the use of this technique and are discussed.

Thirty-six immature alligators (Alligator mississippensis) collected from a canal in the Everglades were examined for information on summer food preferences. A snail (Pomacea paludosa) comprised 65.8 percent by volume of the stomach contents. Invertebrates accounted for 98.0 percent by volume of the total stomach contents.

Establishment was not attained during a six-year intensive investigation into the factors influencing survival of liberated pen-reared Reeve's pheasants in Kentucky. During the tenure of the study, 6,815 juvenile and 859 adult Reeve's were liberated in a varie~ of habitat composition at seven pre-selected release areas. The sex ratIo of release stock was 93 cocks per 100 hens. To enhance field identification, all liberated pheasants were marked with plastic neck tags and metal leg bands. The total recorded mortality was less than two percent of the number released. Approximately thirty percent of the known fatalities was attributed to predation. Avian and fox predation accounted for most of predatory fatalities. Ten broods averaging almost ten chicks per brood were reported. Some evidence was found to indicate a "drumming" display by adult male Reeve's may be associated with reproduction.

Laboratory studies to determine the effect of striped bass egg sedimentation were conducted and a mean hatch of 35.7 percent was recorded for eggs placed on coarse sand while eggs placed on plastic had an average hatch of 36.4 percent. In comparison, the average hatch on silt-sand was 13.1 percent and 3.2 percent on silt-clay-sand substrate. None of the eggs deposited on a muck-detritus substrate hatched. Further egg studies indicated that the percent hatch improved with the period of time eggs were suspended prior to sedimentation. Preliminary observations concerning white bass egg development and notes useful in approximating the time of ovulation are presented. Larvae from the striped bass female X white bass male cross are compared with larvae resulting from the reciprocal cross (white bass female X striped bass male).