Deer trails

Authors

• Hunter Mitchell, DePauw University
• Kathleen Raymond-Judy, DePauw University

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

Spring 2015

Abstract

Introduction
We mapped deer trails in the DePauw Nature Park to understand the behavior of deer. We measured the density of deer trails in three forested areas of the park. We compared the density of deer trails in the overall area and within a 50 meter radius of human trails and streams.

Methods
In each forested area, we walked along established grids, marked all deer trails with flags, and mapped each deer trail using a GPS unit.

Results
The density of deer trails was higher in the overall area compared to the 50-meter buffer of human trails. There was no difference in the density of deer trails in the overall area compared to the 50-meter buffer of streams.

Discussion
Our results suggest that deer avoid interacting with humans by concentrating in deeper forested areas away from human trails.

Comments

Completed as part of Professor Dana Dudle's Conservation Biology class, BIO 345, Biology Department, DePauw University Spring semester 2015

Recommended Citation

Mitchell, Hunter and Raymond-Judy, Kathleen, "Deer trails" (2015). Student Research. 659, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearchother/659