Assessment of Hunters and White-tailed Deer of Hofmann Forest, North Carolina

physiology;dog hunting

Chitwood, Michael Colter ; Christopher S. DePerno, Committee Chair,Chitwood, Michael Colter ; Christopher S. DePerno ; Committee Chair

University:North Carolina State University

关键词: physiology;    dog hunting;   

Others  :  https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/bitstream/handle/1840.16/6321/etd.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

美国|英语

来源: null

【 摘 要 】

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) physiology has been studied across much of thespecies range. However, few studies have been conducted in the southeast and no studieshave been conducted in North Carolina. Further, no physiological studies have beenconducted in nutrient deficient pocosin habitat. We collected 60 female white-tailed deerfrom Hofmann Forest, a privately owned pocosin forest managed intensively for timberproduction near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Using blood serum chemistries and bodycondition indices, we evaluated deer health in July 2008 and March 2009. During bothsampling periods serum chemistries were within expected ranges with the exception ofpotassium, which was twice as high as expected. Throughout the study, levels of kidney fatand femur marrow fat were within ranges reported in the existing literature and abomasalparastite counts did not indicate heavy parasite loads. Spleen and adrenal gland weights weresimilar between periods. Our results create baseline data for physiological condition ofwhite-tailed deer in coastal North Carolina and indicate that deer in nutrient deficient pocosinhabitats are healthy but may be operating on a low nutritional plane.Also, Hofmann Forest provided a unique opportunity to study how hunting deer andblack bear (Ursus americanus) with dogs (dog hunting) contributes to local culture andidentity. Hofmann Forest had 9 hunt clubs (~450 hunters) who hunted predominantly withdogs. Employing a qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews and usedparticipant-observation to immerse ourselves into the social context of dog hunting. Frominterview transcripts, field notes, and actual dog hunting experiences, we performed anarrative analysis using Ricoeur’s theory of narrative identity. The analysis revealed that doghunter’s identify themselves (called “sameness†) through relationships with other people anddogs. They find identity in dog hunting using family relationships, friendships, byintegrating others, and through coping with life events. Through relationships with dogs,they find connection to nature. However, dog hunter identity is shaped also by contrastingthemselves with others (called “selfhood†). Dog hunters define their selfhood by contrastingtheir views on the value dog hunting has to their heritage and their views on the well-being ofdogs and wildlife. The differences dog hunters identified provide evidence of how conflictswith still-hunters and the non-hunting public arise. Further, dog hunters exhibited a concernthat such conflicts will lead to dog hunting being restricted or banned. Our results contributean understanding of how dog hunting plays a constitutive role in the narrative identity of thisrural culture and suggest that dog hunters might possess a willingness to compromise onregulatory issues which might make dog hunting more socially legitimate.Historically, Hofmann Forest has not managed white-tailed deer. To consider futureHofmann Forest-wide management, an understanding of hunt club dynamics and the deerpopulation was needed. Except for safety rules and suggestions on female to male harvestratios, clubs have been allowed to set their own harvest rules and management plans. InOctober 2008, we conducted a survey to determine how clubs currently manage deer, howthey view cooperative deer management with other clubs and Hofmann Forest, and what theythink about general deer management topics (e.g., definition of a “qualityâ€deer). Resultsindicated that Hofmann Forest hunters were happy with their current rules but were receptiveto cooperative management with other clubs and Hofmann Forest. Further, Hofmann Foresthunters exhibited preference for large-antlered males when identifying “qualityâ€deer andtheir preferred outcome of Hofmann Forest deer management. Hofmann Forest’s deerpopulation has never been surveyed or estimated. Using harvest records from 2001-2006 andspotlight survey data from 2008 and 2009, we modeled the Hofmann Forest deer population.We determined the deer population was around 3,000 in 2008 and 2009.