BREEDING BY MALE WHITE-TAILED DEER FAWNS

Two cohorts of captive white-tailed deer fawns (Odocoileus virginianus) were separated from older deer through 1.5 years of age to examine the breeding potential of male fawns. Based on the number of females that gave birth at approximately 1 year of age, a minimum of five males (12.5% of both cohorts) reached sexual maturity and bred successfully as fawns. Although breeding by male fawns would be limited by older males in most wild deer herds, breeding by male fawns might impact the population dynamics of herds in which a very large proportion of older males are harvested.