Effects of hunting and loss of escape cover on movements and activity of female White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus

The impact of hunting on the movements and activity of female white-tailed deer was evaluated by monitoring deer at the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota during the 1992 and 1993 hunting seasons. The effects of loss of escape cover due to the massive floods of 1993 were also assessed. While 70% of the diurnal locations were identified in escape cover in 1992, this was reduced to 28% in 1993. In 1992 the deer responded to hunters by moving deeper into the escape cover, while in 1993, in the absence of escape cover the deer moved onto private lands. While diurnal activity patterns before and during the hunting season were evident in 1992, crepuscular patterns were evident in 1993. Escape cover apparently shapes deer activity patterns.