Mother-offspring relations and ontogeny of behavior in white-tailed deer

Abstract

The development of behavior patterns of the white-tailed deer fawns were observed from the time of birth until approximately four months of age. Animals in both free range and captive conditions were utilized. Parturition occurs in seven to forty-six minutes and three to nine minutes between births with twins. The fawns were able to stand within an hour and ten minutes. Fawns nurse shortly after birth and mainly use a lying position. With increasing age nursing while kneeling was observed during the first two weeks of age, thereafter nursing while standing was prevalent. During the first week a fawn nurses four to five times over a period of twenty-four hours with most nursing bouts occurring during the daylight hours. The time spent suckling during a nursing bout increases until two weeks of age then steadily declines. In most cases nursing is initiated by the doe calling the fawn to her. The doe recognizes her fawn by smelling its anal-genital region. On rare occasions were fawns observed to nurse from other females. Termination of nursing is age dependent. Usually when the fawn is one month old the doe terminates nursing. During nursing the doe licks the fawn's anal-genital region ingesting the excretory products. This behavior is evident until the fawn is approximately thirty days of age or about two weeks after the fawn urinates and defecates on its own initiative. The anal-genital licking possibly enhances nursing by the fawn and also serves as a predator defense mechanism. Vocalizations are an integral part of mother offspring relationships. The doe knows the general location of the bedded fawn and employs two calls, the low and high grunt call, to initiate contact for nursing. The fawns use three calls, the low whine, high whine, and bleat to call attention to itself to facilitate nursing. Two other vocalizations are used by the fawn these being the bawl and the loud snort. They are only used when the fawn is in a stress situation of possible incipient danger..