Activity Patterns of Young White‐Tailed Deer Fawns in South Texas

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Abstract
We studied the activity of 27 young white—tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns on the Welder Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. we attached motion—sensitive radiotransmitters to 15 male and 12 female fawns, 3—12 day old,and monitored their activity for as long as 9 weeks. These fawns primarily were diurnal, although most were active for short periods once or twice a night. The amount and timing of activity of each fawn varied considerably; however, total activity increased with age as a fawn became stronger and more agile. Males were more active than females during daytime and in total at all ages, but females were more active at night. During their first two weeks of life, fawns were active an average of 8% of the time. By 1 month of age, males were active about 16% of the time, and females were active 12% of the time. The average number of daytime activity periods increased from two in fawns during their first week to five—six periods at 1 month of age. Most activity periods were less than 35 minutes long, but they increased in duration with fawn age. Two—hour activity periods were rare until fawns were more than a month old. The increase in fawn activity with age was related to the fawn's increasing ability to follow its dam, and its gradual integration into the adult deer social unit. Fawns were more active during midday hours in their first week of life, but they were most active in morning and evening thereafter.

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