scooter
03-05-2009, 09:51 AM
Surviving a tough winter -
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ONE of the great things about being a hunter is the kinship one feels with your prey. Take the white-tailed deer. Even though white-tails can adapt to many different environments, a Manitoba winter ranks up there as one of the white-tail's greatest challenges.
The over-wintering success of Manitoba's white-tails is of more than academic interest since winter survival has got a lot to do with the numbers of deer we will see in the fall. And the recent February rains made this winter all the tougher for Manitoba's deer because of the crust of ice on the snow.
So, how do white-tails make it through a Manitoba winter? The fact that so many do is made even more remarkable, when you consider that white-tailed deer are only recent immigrants to this province.
The white-tail marched west with the European settlers, adapting well to the new agricultural landscape and displacing the native mule deer. One could say that they don't even belong here! Fat to a deer is like fuel to a car. In the autumn, deer lay down significant reserves of fat for the winter. Manitoba's agricultural landscape sets a bountiful fall table for white-tails. There are grain crops, along with the highly nutritious oilseeds and legumes like sunflowers and field peas respectively. Throw in alfalfa and acorns, and that is a food mix guaranteed to fatten up any deer.
For deer with little or no access to agricultural crops, like those in Manitoba's bush country, it's a different story. They have to calculate whether eating is even worthwhile.
White-tails have the ability to slow their metabolism and enter into phase that has been dubbed walking hibernation. A slow metabolic rate conserves energy, allowing the fat reserves to last longer.
While in this state, deer forgoe certain foods or eating altogether, because the energy gained may be less than the energy expended to eat it. In extreme conditions, deer spend a lot of time curled up and bedded down, counting on their thick, hollow-haired coats to keep them warm.
The moments of truth are when the snow comes and when the snow goes. As well, even though we may like a February thaw, that's bad for deer because the warm weather can trick a deer's metabolism into speeding up too soon and using more energy. A late March storm can catch the deer in a weakened state and hasten their demise.
The prolonged cold spell this winter helped by keeping their metabolism slow and conserving energy. If the weathers warms and stays that way, the deer are home-free. But a late winter storm or rain can kill the most vulnerable, such as the fawns which simply do not have enough body mass and the big bucks, who have lower reserves of fat due to their exertions in the fall rutting season.
The deer of today survive tougher winters than the deer of 30 years ago because of the rich mix of agricultural foods that are now available to them.
All hunters are awe-struck by this marvelous animal. And they continue to fascinate me.
rsopuck@deltawaterfowl.org
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PUBLICATION: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
DATE: 2009.02.28
PAGE: D4
BYLINE: Bob Sopuck
WORD COUNT: 513
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ONE of the great things about being a hunter is the kinship one feels with your prey. Take the white-tailed deer. Even though white-tails can adapt to many different environments, a Manitoba winter ranks up there as one of the white-tail's greatest challenges.
The over-wintering success of Manitoba's white-tails is of more than academic interest since winter survival has got a lot to do with the numbers of deer we will see in the fall. And the recent February rains made this winter all the tougher for Manitoba's deer because of the crust of ice on the snow.
So, how do white-tails make it through a Manitoba winter? The fact that so many do is made even more remarkable, when you consider that white-tailed deer are only recent immigrants to this province.
The white-tail marched west with the European settlers, adapting well to the new agricultural landscape and displacing the native mule deer. One could say that they don't even belong here! Fat to a deer is like fuel to a car. In the autumn, deer lay down significant reserves of fat for the winter. Manitoba's agricultural landscape sets a bountiful fall table for white-tails. There are grain crops, along with the highly nutritious oilseeds and legumes like sunflowers and field peas respectively. Throw in alfalfa and acorns, and that is a food mix guaranteed to fatten up any deer.
For deer with little or no access to agricultural crops, like those in Manitoba's bush country, it's a different story. They have to calculate whether eating is even worthwhile.
White-tails have the ability to slow their metabolism and enter into phase that has been dubbed walking hibernation. A slow metabolic rate conserves energy, allowing the fat reserves to last longer.
While in this state, deer forgoe certain foods or eating altogether, because the energy gained may be less than the energy expended to eat it. In extreme conditions, deer spend a lot of time curled up and bedded down, counting on their thick, hollow-haired coats to keep them warm.
The moments of truth are when the snow comes and when the snow goes. As well, even though we may like a February thaw, that's bad for deer because the warm weather can trick a deer's metabolism into speeding up too soon and using more energy. A late March storm can catch the deer in a weakened state and hasten their demise.
The prolonged cold spell this winter helped by keeping their metabolism slow and conserving energy. If the weathers warms and stays that way, the deer are home-free. But a late winter storm or rain can kill the most vulnerable, such as the fawns which simply do not have enough body mass and the big bucks, who have lower reserves of fat due to their exertions in the fall rutting season.
The deer of today survive tougher winters than the deer of 30 years ago because of the rich mix of agricultural foods that are now available to them.
All hunters are awe-struck by this marvelous animal. And they continue to fascinate me.
rsopuck@deltawaterfowl.org
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PUBLICATION: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
DATE: 2009.02.28
PAGE: D4
BYLINE: Bob Sopuck
WORD COUNT: 513
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