Document Type

Research

Keywords

White-tailed deer, abundance index, scent lures, behavior, management

Abstract

The response of captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to selected commercial scent lures and the feasibility of measuring the relative abundance of wild deer with roadside scent stations were studied. Penned deer first smelled scented capsules 5.7 times more frequently than unscented controls. There was no significant difference among 5 scents tested as to whether they were smelled or not, in the amount of time deer spend smelling them, nor any preference for sex- or food-derived scents. In a high deer density area the visitation rate to scented stations was 149 and unscented was 95. In a low deer density area it averaged only 6. Though construction of roadside stations was somewhat time-consuming, the technique proved potentially valuable for providing an index of relative deer abundance because it was simple, required a minimum of equipment, tracks were easily identified, and were comparable to aerial surveys in costs and results.

Publication Date

June 1986

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

Issue

First Page

Last Page

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File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Franklin, William L. (1986) "A Roadside Technique Using Scent Lures for Measuring Relative White-Tailed Deer Abundance," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 93(2), 44-47.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol93/iss2/5

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A Roadside Technique Using Scent Lures for Measuring Relative White-Tailed Deer Abundance

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