Antler Points

Drag a brush or tree top along a dusty dirt road at supper-time to wipe out all deer tracks on the road. Make several such drag strips over roads in your area. There should be 2133 feet long or 0.4 miles, each. Mark that start and stop clearly and make permanent marks so that the same strips can be visited each year. Count the number of sets of deer tracks crossing the road in any direction.

To estimate the density of the deer in the area, use the following simple equation. (It's derivation was not simple and required extensive data collection from deer wearing small radio transmitters.)

Estimating that only half of the deer in the area cross the road but do not re-cross the road , then the equation for deer (D) in an area of (A) acres is:

D = A(0.195 T)

For example, where there are 5 sets of tracks, and 100 acres, then there is a density, in similar areas, of about 1 deer (1 deer per 97.5 acres).

In an area where intensive management is done or where there are natural crossings, higher populations and more tracks (an average of 15 or more sets) may be expected.

This estimation procedure is only one of many needed to be used, all at the same time, to get a reasonable estimate of deer density or total population. If the food supplies are very abundant, then deer will also be abundant. Crossings may then be too numerous, so the estimate will be inflated.

There is great variation in deer range, so at least 3 such strips are needed. Select representative areas. Take the average.

R* Deer staff will do analyses of your area for you or analyze your data. A computer program for a PC will soon be available so that you can analyze strips taken with lengths other than the standard "drag strip" suggested above.

(Eric Wiseman, a former student of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech assisted with this note.)

This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.