Page 2 - Nov/Dec 2021 Outdoor Oklahoma

Panoramas

I’M SURE all of us deer hunters have heard it said Well, hunters stepped up and did their part. Antlerless
before: “I won’t shoot does; it just makes no sense to get rid of harvest made up 43 percent of the total deer harvest for the
the fawn factories! Before long, there won’t be any more deer.” 2020-21 hunting seasons. That was the highest percentage
It seems logical on the surface. But as a biologist who has since 2010, and an increase of 5 percent over the previous year.
devoted many years learning about our natural resources and Congratulations, hunters! Your efforts to take more antler-
how to best manage them, I can assure you it’s pretty much the less deer worked, and the benefits will be felt in years to come.
opposite. On-the-ground experience shows that a balanced “Hunters in the Know … Take a Doe!” And hunters must
buck-to-doe ratio in the deer population is the best strategy keep taking does, in addition to bucks, if they want Oklahoma’s
for maintaining a healthy herd. deer herd to thrive and continue to be healthy.
There will always be plenty of skeptics This year, I hope hunters take advantage of the
because they’ve “been told their entire life increased opportunities to harvest antlerless deer.
that you don’t shoot does.” But here are the Again, the holiday antlerless deer gun season will
biological facts that support a robust antler- run for 14 days, from Dec. 18-31, and the limit
less harvest: will be two antlerless “bonus” deer, which means
• A skewed buck-to-doe ratio where they do not count toward the regular seasonal
more does are present is detrimental to harvest limit. The regular deer gun season runs
herd health. Nov. 20-Dec. 5, allowing hunters to take up to
• A more even buck-to-doe ratio means a Dallas Barber four deer, with one of those being antlered.
more intense condensed rut, or breeding season, which As deer hunters, you are the boots-on-the-ground “wildlife
helps bucks conserve energy and improves antler quality. managers” who are making the deer management decisions.
• A deer herd with an excess of does depletes the nutrition Every time you decide to pull the trigger or release an arrow,
available in an area, which contributes to poor body con- you’re making a deer management decision that impacts your
dition and poor herd health for all deer. local populations. The Department simply provides the regu-
• A balanced herd results in more fawns being born in a latory framework and the biological expertise, but you decide
shorter period, actually increasing the odds that more the best way you can help manage the resource the most.
deer survive predation. Doe harvest remains a top priority this year for ODWC,
• A more concise rut means fewer late-born fawns, which as well as a high-value tool for biologists like me working to
are often undersized and undernourished as they enter optimize the health of the state’s deer herd.
their first winter.
Last year, Oklahoma’s hunters enjoyed liberalized oppor-
tunities to harvest antlerless deer. The Wildlife Department
hoped that by liberalizing the antlerless deer limit, the harvest
of does would fall into a range of 40 to 45 percent of total Dallas Barber,
harvest. That target goal goes a long way toward correcting Big-game Biologist,
skewed buck-to-doe ratios in many areas of the state. ODWC