From: robinson@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals
Subject: Re: New Subscriber and a look on hunting
Date: 16 Apr 92 13:19:42 GMT
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

In article <BMprxJ.MrI@world.std.com>, eb3@world.std.com (Edwin Barkdoll) writes:
> In article <1992Apr9.145008.4917@ac.dal.ca> robinson@ac.dal.ca writes:
>>In article <BMAwz3.IEF@world.std.com>, eb3@world.std.com (Edwin Barkdoll) writes:
>>> In article <1992Apr6.144103.4831@ac.dal.ca> robinson@ac.dal.ca writes:
>>>>If *you* were a hunter you would have realized that deer are predominantly 
>>>>nocturnal as it is.
>>> 
>>> 	Well, you're a hunter but you are apparently unaware that deer
>>> (at least white-tails and I think mule deer; what species are you
>>> talking about?) are NOT "predominantly nocturnal" at least as
>>> evidenced by activity, rather during winter months their activity
>>> peaks before sunset, during other months activity may peak at about
>>> sunset with significant activity preceding and after sunset, in
>>> addition to peaks in activity around sunrise.
>>
>>I am speaking specifically of whitetails.  According to the Dept. of Nat. 
>>Resources here, their peak activity is somewhat before sunset and somewhat 
>>after sunrise.  They have a dormant period from around midnight until 
>>an hour or so before sunrise.
> 
> 	That sounds pretty in line with what I've read and with my
> experiences with deer.  However it cannot be remotely considereded
> "predominantly nocturnal".

Well, then perhaps I need to look nocturnal up in the dictionary. :-)

> 
>>> 	The implication being that the deer which become "almost
>>> totally nocturnal" do so because of hunting?  Reference, please.
>>> Actually I'd like a reference for deer being "predominantly nocturnal"
>>> as well.  By "predominantly nocturnal" I assume that you mean that
>>> (nocturnal activity)/(diurnal activity) > 1.0 for deer.  Is that what
>>> you are saying?
>>
>>When I say they become almost totally nocturnal I do not mean that they 
>>don't move at all during the day and I do not mean that they spend all day 
>>sleeping.  What I mean is that they do *most* of their moving around after 
>>sunset and before sunrise.  Other than an occaissional stretch of the legs, 
>>they tend to stay in their beds where they have ample cover and warning of 
>>intrusions.
>>
>>Perhaps I wasn't specific enough in my original statements....
> 
> 	Now that's an understatement :-)
> 
> 	Doing most of their moving about before sunrise and after
> sunset is a far cry from being "almost totally nocturnal".  Beir and
> McCullough describe data from the annually hunted herd they studied:
> "In the morning, the activity peak occurred just after sunrise in all
> seasons.  In contrast, the peak in evening activity started before and
> continued past sunset in spring, summer and fall and ended at or near
> sunset in winter."
> 	I would still like a reference for deer shifting their
> activity to *mostly* before sunrise and after sunset in response to
> hunting pressure,  but it seems I won't be getting one.

Perhaps, perhaps not.  We'll see what I can find.

In the mean time, you wanted a reference for the current deer population if 
I recall (I said I had read that it was around 25 million animals).  The 
following book mentions that number several times:

Art and Science of Whitetail Hunting - How to interpret the facts and find 
the deer.  Author: Kent Horner.  Publisher: Stackpole Books, Copyright 
1986.  ISBN 0-8117-2008-X.  

The author, Kent Horner, is both a hunter and a biologist.  To quote from 
page 17:

"Chapter 1

The Deer Hunter and His Equipment

The Necessary Hunter

   The hunter is the deer's best friend in the long run. For, finally, by 
the hunter's best efforts, game management fees are paid, salaried game 
managers are hired, and herd populations are controlled at the proper 
carrying capacity of the land.
   In the main, the combined efforts made by deer hunters, game managers, 
and research wildlife biologists have brought the whitetailed deer back 
from the brink of extinction.  In the early 1900s the whitetail population 
reached its lowest ebb.  Only about 500,000 deer were left in the entire 
United States.  Now there are nearly 25 million.  Furhter, the whitetail 
population has doubled within the last 8 years."

-- 
John Robinson                  Only criminals, tyrants, and cowards have
robinson@ac.dal.ca                 reason to fear the armed, honest citizen.
DOD #0069