Take a walk in any Chester County Park in the early morning or late afternoon and there is a

{White-Tailed Deer}

White-tailed deer, Odocoilus virginianus, find plenty of food in the Chester County landscape.

good chance that you'll see white-tailed deer. Besides being Pennsylvania's state mammal, it's perhaps the most valued one as well and the most talked about concerning its management. 

Let's take a look at the animal causing controversy over its management. The white-tailed deer was so named because the underside of its tail is covered with white hair. When it runs, the deer often holds its tail erect so the white undersurface is visible, perhaps as a warning signal to other deer. White-tails belong to the Cervidae family. Cervids are split-hoofed mammals with no incisor teeth in the front of the upper jaw. In North America, this family includes elk, moose, caribou and mule deer. Deer are also classed as ruminant animals, meaning they have a four-chambered stomach and frequently chew a "cud".  Adult male White-tails, "bucks," grow and shed a set of antlers each year. 
 
NATURAL HISTORY: The mating season, or rut, begins as early as September and can last into January. The breeding activity peaks in mid-November, the same time motorists report a peak in deer/car collisions. Fawning season arrives 200 days after conception, peaking in late May to mid-June. At that time, pregnant does leave the family group and remain alone to bear and rear their fawns. The does' yearling offspring are left on their own for the summer, and a second peak occurs in deer/ car collisions. Siblings usually bond until September when the young does rejoin their mother. The young bucks usually disperse from their mother's home range as the breeding season approaches. 

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, families went on a Sunday afternoon drive to look for this beautiful game animal feeding in the fields. It was exciting to report that you saw a few deer, as they were considered an elusive wild animal. Today, Chester County motorists cross their fingers hoping to avoid a collision, especially during the fall rut and spring fawning seasons. Land owners grumble about deer eating the crops or landscaped plantings on their properties. 

WHAT HAPPENED? While there are many factors, let's focus on the two most important and relevant to Chester County - deer habitat and deer management. First, deer habitat changed greatly as this once heavily-forested county became settled and later developed. Carrying

{Deer Browsing}

capacity and deer density vary throughout the County. Among agricultural crops, woodlots and residential plantings, the fragmented landscape now offers plenty of food and cover for deer to thrive. It is easy to measure and compare the past and present plants in areas to assess the impact of deer on private and public property. For example, wildflower enthusiasts used to visit Warwick County Park to see the many Pink Lady's Slipper orchids in bloom. Now, the challenge is just to find one plant.

The second answer is deer management. Coupled with the loss of predators and hunting pressure, deer numbers surged under a management policy that maintained an unnatural gender ratio in the deer population. Unfortunately, automobiles are the only significant "predator" of deer in Chester County. Traditionally, the Pennsylvania deer season and hunting practices were to harvest the bucks. This created a deer population out of balance both with habitat and in terms of the buck-to-doe ratio. Many does in Chester County start to have young when they're just one year old. For about a dozen years, most will have twins, contributing to a fast growing population. Besides the "get-a-buck" mentality, much of the County became less accessible to deer hunters because of land issues like safety zones and private property. 

NOW WHAT? The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), the state agency responsible for wildlife, created a Deer Management Section. PGC must manage deer impacts for all stakeholders with regards to the future of all Commonwealth wildlife and habitat resources. Pennsylvania hunting seasons, regulations and antlerless allocations have been adjusted to move deer populations closer to levels their habitat can support. This has improved animal health and provided a more natural breeding population, which will increase highway safety by reducing the length of the rutting and fawning season.

The Chester County Parks & Recreation Department practices are based on direction from the PGC's Deer Management Section. One of our key roles is to improve and preserve the diversity of habitats and species for future generations. For more information about our deer management, read “Decade of Deer Management” by Owen Prusack, Regional Park Superintendent and Deer Management Coordinator.