Southern Deer are DIFFERENT?

[roysclockgun]

I hope that some of you can confirm or reject my findings.
Most of my life, so far, I have hunted north of the Mason-Dixon Line, or out in the great west. During those hunts, I had some very cold weather and learned how the deer reacted to cold and wind. In the cases where cold and wind occur daily, deer will move sometime during daylight, so a hunter has a chance.

Along the Mason-Dixon Line, deer do not "yard up" for warmth, until the temps get down below 20 degrees or so. Nor do northern deer stop moving in wind. If northern deer did either of those two things, they would starve to death, because wind and cold are common during northern winters.
This year, for the first time, I joined a hunt club in SE Ga. I hunted from opening day in Oct., through yesterday, at least 3 days a week. I saw deer even when temps reach a daytime high of 80. I naturally figured that southern deer are better equipped for heat, than are northern deer.
In the beginning, I saw deer every day, either morning or evening.

This past weekend, in Baxley, Ga., a front moved in bringing temps in the 15 to 30 range. Sat. we had rain, but not cold yet and I saw deer. Sunday, I spotted two groups of 6 or more deer, moving through. Sunday night the hard freeze moved in and all day Monday the wind blew very hard, 20 to 30 mph, along with some cold rain. Tues. was the same.
My conclusion is that the groups of deer that I saw moving on Sunday were heading for a place in thick pines, where they could yard up and stay warm.
I hunted all day Monday and Tues., seeing no deer. I entertained myself by watching fox, cardinals and a stray woods rat move below my stand.
Is my conclusion, regarding the southern deer disappearing due to two days of unusual cold correct?
Lastly, all six hunters, who were in camp with me, went home Sunday morning without going out that morning. I did see the groups of deer Sunday morning, but they were convinced that I would see none. They have all lived in the deep south for much longer than have I.
Thank you,
Steven L. Ashe
DeLand, FL

 

[dubyam]

Southern deer are not "different" in the sense of being a different species, but they are environmentally different in that they do not load up the fat reserves of their northern brethren. Southern deer are going to run anywhere from 100-175lbs for the most part. There are smaller and larger deer killed every year, but the majority are in this range. Northern deer frequently top 200lbs when they are 3.5yrs old. It's a generalized trend of warm blooded animals (known as Bergmann's Rule) to have larger body mass at higher latitudes. It comes down to the ability to conserve heat in colder temps, versus the ability to shed heat in higher temps. Higher surface area to body mass ratio (lighter overall body weight) allows for better cooling, while lower surface area to body mass ratio allows for better heat retention.

What you've witnessed is the southern deer herds, primarily equipped for temps in the 30-100deg range, reacting to the single digit temps from the arctic cold front. It'd be the same as the northern deer sleeping next to water sources during some 100deg heat wave in Wisconsin one summer. Southern deer will key to water in hot weather, but they will not largely change their habits. Northern deer will change their habits and have even been seen wading like cattle during prolonged heat waves.

I generally won't hunt except in sheltered areas close to bedding cover if the wind is up more than about 10kts around here. And I like to hunt closer to bedding areas when it's cold, along the travel lanes to feeding areas. Too cold, and deer will just eat the browse around the bedding area rather than venture out of their protected beds and lose the heat they're conserving.

 

[SJB358]

They are different in regards to heat. Here in Va, the deer don't mind the heat as much as what I learned hunting in NY. These deer will move in the heat, just as Northern deer have to move in the cold, Southern deer have to move in the heat, or they will starve.

I believe what you saw was correct, when the cold moved in, they move to the thick pines and stay warm till they get a break or are pushed outta the pines.

It is a different sorta hunting, but still, not too much different, just dealing with the heat is different for me. I am used to layering up to hunt, not donning T-Shirts and climbing into a stand.

 

[Vince]

Deer, and other game, adapt to their environment.
Changes in the environment means changes in their established pattern to me but it's all still part of a deer pattern. We change our habits some as the seasons change and I would expect game animals to do the same. Because most of us don't study animals over a long period of time, years, we maybe don't see the historical way deer react to extreme changes in condition over a long period of time. Case in point, the deer bedding by a water source during a drought. If you watched them over the previous 100 years you might've seen that pattern before.
Animals are geared towards some very basic things, survival and reproduction. Figure the survival part out and you've got it figured out. Like many I'm still working on it.

 

[Bruce Mc]

Its called Bergmann's rule. The further north a species exists the larger the example so that they can retain more body heat. The further south a species exists the smaller the example so that they can dissipate body heat more easily. It also has some indication that the farther north a species exists the shorter its limbs. There are exceptions. Of course that means that body heat of southern deer dissipates more readily then nothern deer so they need to move around and feed during cold weather or rain to survive. And northern deer must stay near a water source when it is hot because they don't easily dissipate body heat.

 

[Rockymtnx]

You will find that the there is even a bigger difference in the deer in the north vs south the further north you go. The differences the posters above mention are even greater.
Our deer here in Alberta are very much different than the deer in Georgia or Alabama. You have to hunt them much differently, that's for sure.