Age determination of Kansas deer by annuli count.

Abstract

The validity of age determination of white-tail deer, Odocolieus virginianus (Refinesque), and mule deer, Odocolieus hemionus (Rafinesque), based on tooth wear and development (TWD) is being questioned as a reliable and accurate means of determining the proper age of such animals. Age determination of deer by this method appears to have some serious limitations. At present, Kansas biologists do not attempt to determine the exact age of deer over 3.5 years of age because of the difficulty of interrogating tooth wear of animals beyond this age. Teeth are also known to be worn down at varying rates depending upon the amount of abrasive material on the vegetation upon which deer feed. Ransom (1966) stated that Severinghaus and Cheatum (1956) found deer from a sand blown area of Massachusetts and a dusty area of Texas showed tooth wear to be approximately double that of deer from new York. It would seem reasonable to assume that similar conditions would also be found in Kansas deer. Soil conditions and habitat vary greatly between eastern and western sections of the state. There is also the problem of varying interpretations of wear by individual biologists.