FAWN SEX RATIOS IN WHITE-TAILED DEER

DDH EXCLUSIVE! AUBURN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE-BASED WHITETAIL INSIGHTS

Have you ever looked at a fawn, or pair of fawns, and pondered everything that had to happen for that fawn to be there in front of you?

There are a lot of things an individual fawn has to overcome to make it to four, five, or six months of age, the approximate age of a fawn during hunting season across most of the country. Obviously, the fawn had to be born, but after that there are myriad challenges that animal had to overcome: predators, parasites, diseases, vehicles, hunters, even simple accidents (e.g., falling in a hole, which we once had happen to one of our radio collared fawns; being swept downstream; mother dying).

In short, a lot happened during that animal’s life prior to you seeing it. Now…have you ever thought about what happened before that fawn was born? Mating, conception, implantation, and gestation are just some of those events that occurred prior to birth.

Sex determination is one thing that happens