Analysis Of Habitat Use And Factors That Influence The Activity Of White-Tailed Deer In Northwest Montana

Abstract

The summer home range patterns of five white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virqinianus) near Whitefish, Montana were studied from May 23,1989 to August 20, 1989. The collared animals were adult females equipped with radio transmitters. Through the use of an FM, battery operated receiver and an H-shaped antennae, roughly 22 locations were obtained for each deer throughout the period of study. Each animal's polygon home range, average activity radius, average distance between consecutive locations and rate of movement were determined. Those whitetails occupying rangelands consisting primarily of upland timbered sites with scattered areas of riparian growth exhibited a great deal of migratory activity, whereas those occupying more densely populated, agricultural lowland regions exhibited significantly smaller home range polygons and lower levels of activity. <br /> The difference in movement patterns between white-tailed deer in these two types of habitat may be attributed to a variety of influences such as availability of foraging areas, bedding sites and escape cover.