White-tailed deer habits shift with the fall season

As Medina area residents, most folks are incredibly familiar with white-tailed deer. Whether you are driving through the rural outskirts of the city, watching deer browse on soybeans, or standing in your kitchen window watching them munch on your flower garden, these four-legged ungulates appear to be everywhere.

Seeing deer in Medina throughout the year is not uncommon, but if you pay closer attention, as the seasons change, so do their habits and behaviors.

With the days growing shorter and the temperatures starting to drop, fall is right around the corner. The fawns that had been following the females since May are now losing their prominent spots and taking the shape of adult deer. They’re becoming more self-sufficient in finding food and fending for themselves. Soon, they’ll split from their mothers and be completely on their own.

Throughout the spring and summer months, the males tend to stick to bachelor groups, usually two to four. During this time, the bucks go through one of the most remarkable transitions in the animal kingdom. The antlers they carried throughout the fall and winter were dropped in late winter, leaving bald spots where they were once attached. But shortly after they fall off, new ones begin to grow, generally increasing in size as the buck matures.

In the next few weeks, bucks will start to separate from their bachelor groups and travel around in search of food sources and bedding areas while becoming more territorial. They will put on more body weight, and their fur will turn to a darker brown, replacing their almost amber-colored summer coat — all in preparation for their annual chase for a mate: the rut.

The rut kicks into gear in mid-October and lasts through November in Ohio. The main driving force is the search for receptive does. Deer have a powerful sense of smell, and when a doe goes into estrus, bucks in the area quickly become aware because of specific pheromones. Bucks can also detect a doe in estrus by visual hints such as tail flicks. This is when deer movement and activity are at an all-time high. White-tailed deer are most active around dusk and dawn, but during this time all bets are off.

Deer-vehicle collisions tend to spike across the state during the rut. In the city of Medina – where municipal code prohibits the feeding of wild animals – there has been an increase in deer carcasses recovered from roadways in recent years.

As we face a growing deer population alongside a growing human population, the best way to keep yourself and the deer safe is to be cautious while driving this fall, especially at dusk and dawn. Take the time to scan the roadways for eye-shine or deer standing next to the road. Never swerve to avoid a deer if it jumps into the road; brake firmly and stay in your lane.

If you’ve had the chance to watch deer go through these yearly changes, enjoy it. They are the only large mammal we get to interact with almost daily that isn’t on two legs. After all, it’s not a bad thing to learn more about the habits and behaviors of something so common, even if it is a wild animal.

Jim Smith serves as District Technician for the Medina County Soil & Water Conservation District.