Search

Monitoring devices are used extensively for wildlife applications including tracking, home-range identification, and facili­tating the recapture of animals. In the spring of 2021, Apple Inc., began marketing the AirTag™. This small device costing $20.00 - $25.00 can be attached to items and located remotely using iPhones. While Apple Inc. indicates the AirTag™ is not intended for use on pets, there may be applications for monitoring animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of AirTags for animal tracking purposes on a college campus with urban and suburban-type environments. Initially, human subjects carried individ­ual AirTags (n=40) to 10 designated locations (n=40) within the 50-ha study area to simulate live tracking of individual devices. The actual location of the device compared to the location indicated on a stationary iPhone were recorded. In the second phase of the study, parameters related to the recovery of stationary devices (n=40) placed at randomly selected locations in the study area were collected. Finally, AirTags (n=4) were attached to domestic sheep via a collar in a more remote region of the campus to evaluate monitoring potential. Actual location of AirTags at designated sites compared to the location indicated on an iPhone varied from .09 ha - 5.4ha area. Recovery of AirTags hidden at various locations within the 50-ha area, took longer (p < 0.05) when using the iPhone visual locating method alone (78.4 ± 3.91 min) compared to using the visual display and an audio transmission from the AirTag™ (43.0 ± 1.21 min). Utilization of the AirTag™ to monitor free-ranging sheep in the more rural location was not effective. Results of this study suggest the use of Apple AirTag™ has some utility for monitoring animals remotely under certain physical and environ­mental conditions.

The Berry College campus has a population of white-tailed deer habituated to the presence of humans. One area of the campus contains residential houses, and apartments for faculty and staff. In this area, there have been numerous anecdotal reports, as well as photographic and video evidence, of white-tailed deer exhibiting aggressive behavior, particularly toward dogs being walked on leashes. In addition, deer following individuals or circling humans at a distance, making them uncomfortable, have been reported. The objective of this study was to document and establish the locations, frequency, and types of behaviors exhibited by deer in response to humans walking with and without leashed dogs. During the summer of 2019, a total of 13 instances of aggressive behavior were encountered by residents of the area and the investigators. In a majority of the events, (n = 12), deer would follow individuals with their dogs an average distance of 212.7 m ± 24.8 (100%), circle in front of the individuals, and stop in the walking path (50%), forcing them to turn another direction or be subjected to warning snorts or grinding teeth (33%), and/or pawing behavior (33%). We had proposed to administer a negative reinforcement stimulus in the form of impact of a needleless paint-marking dart delivered by a tranquilizer dart gun. It was hypothesized that the negative reinforcement might reduce the likelihood of individual deer repeating the aggressive behavior. However, no deer presented the aggressive behavior when researchers were carrying the tranquilizer dart gun. The investigators are planning on continuation of this project in 2020.

The value of thermal imagery has been well documented for use in many aspects of wildlife damage management and other animal identification purposes. As technology has improved, prices for these devices continue to become more affordable. Two thermal imaging cameras were evaluated to determine effectiveness and utility of the devices under environments potentially encountered in the field. We tested the FLIR One (FLIR ONE) for an iPhone smart phone, and the FLIR Scout TK Compact Monocular (FLIR TK) device. Photographs of domestic animals and wildlife species were collected at distances of 3m-50m. A survey was developed and administered to professionals working with wildlife or domestic animals, containing paired images for each camera taken from similar distances and color palette. Survey participants (n = 52) reported the FLIR ONE camera produced more favorable images at closer distances (P < 0.05), and the FLIR TK at longer distances (P < 0.05). Overall, participants preferred (P < 0.05) the FLIR TK for producing the most desirable or useful images. Results of this study suggest both the FLIR TK and FLIR one thermal imaging cameras have the potential to be useful in collecting images of animals under low light conditions.

The objective of this study was to determine the importance of visual verification in the behavioral response of white-tailed deer to an auditory alert recording. We utilized a portable, remote-controlled sound system to play recordings of the white-tailed deer alert “blow.” In Phase I, the sound treatment was administered from a single location in a 1.3-ha grass lawn surrounded by wooded areas and roads with limited visibility, to free-ranging white-tailed deer on the Berry College campus during day and night hours. In Phase II, sound treatments were administered from varying locations in open lawn and hay fields. Recordings of deer activity were obtained from a digital camcorder and a FLIR thermal imagery camera. Behavior of white-tailed deer in response to the audio recording was classified as Passive (no altered behavior), Alert (actively observing and/or listening toward the recorded sound), Active (slow to moderate intentional movement toward or away from the recorded sound), or Flight (running away from the recorded sound). Six 10-sec periods of activity were evaluated. The pretreatment period (Pre Treat) began one minute prior to activation of the alert sound. The next four time periods [Sound (T1-T3)] represent the four consecutive 10-sec time frames from initiation of the sound treatment. A post-treatment (Post Trt) period was approximately 60 sec following the T3 period. In both phases, deer exhibited decreased Passive Behavior and increased Alert Behavior and Active Behavior following administration of the sound treatment. In the more confined area (Phase I) at night, deer tended to exhibit Alert and Active Behaviors longer than during the day. In the more open areas (Phase II), the degree of Active Behavior was diminished, with deer in the day tending to seek out the location of the sound. The results indicate that the use of visual verification to the auditory alert influenced behavioral response of white-tailed deer, and may be more critical in the areas where that process is limited compared to more open landscapes.

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Milorganite® as a potential repellent for non-venomous snakes. Milorganite® is the biosolids by-product left from the activated sludge process from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District. Within a climate-controlled building, two triangular enclosures consisting of panels (2.4 × 1.2 m) resulting in 2.6 m2 floor surface area, were secured to plastic floor covering and provided with cypress mulch and a container of water. Corners of the enclosure were demarcated using a 63.5-mm monofilament line placed 10 cm above the floor, providing a .09-m2 visible triangle of floor surface area. Round metal containers (8.3 × 3.0 cm) were secured to a board and individually placed within each enclosure corner. Treatments consisted of a control, or the addition of 250 mg or 500 mg Milorganite® within respective metal containers, within each corner. Wild-caught snakes (n=20), including rat (Elaphe spp.), corn (Elaphe guttatus), king (Lampropeltis spp.), black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus), and pine (Pituophis melanoleucus) snakes, were placed individually within an enclosure for a 24-hour period. Activity of the snake was digitally recorded using an infrared camera placed above an enclosure. Treatment application was repeated for each individual snake. The amount of time each snake spent within the respective enclosure corners or outside the demarcated areas during the 24-hour period was utilized as an indication of the effectiveness of Milorganite® as a repellent. During the 1440-min trials, snakes spent more time (p.05), there was a trend toward a dose-response effect of the Milorganite® treatment levels. Results of this study indicate Milorganite® demonstrated potential as a snake repellent.

Often the greatest challenge in wildlife management is not the management of the animals themselves, but rather the human component of human-wildlife conflict. Persuasive and emotional dialogue is extensively used by private organizations and groups to promote specific agendas. In contrast, a persuasive educational format is often used by science-based groups to promote an agenda. We investigated the effects and importance of word choice using surveys involving wildlife and environmental issues. While topics were identical, survey questions were written to be Persuasive Educational or Persuasive Emotional in structure and were administered to students and to faculty-staff of Berry College. Based on results of surveys completed (n=568), responses could generally be manipulated depending on textual format. However, significant direct exposure to wildlife on the Berry College campus may have influenced the degree of manipulation achieved among both groups of respondents. Results of the study demonstrate the importance of word choice in influencing perspectives. Clearly understanding the perspectives and attempting to identify likely experiences of an audience is essential in order to effectively use written and/or oral delivery of information to achieve public support.

Tranquilizer darts are designed to administer a compound from a distance, utilizing low velocities to minimize unnecessary injury to the animal by excessive penetration of the dart. As a result, effective distances and subsequent accuracy of the dart are problematic. It was hypothesized that a minor modification to commercially-available tranquilizer darts would allow greater velocities to be utilized by reducing some of the impact force. This should increase the effective distance of the darts while reducing potential damage to target animals if higher velocities were utilized. A foam-based conventional earplug was modified by cutting it in half to fit over a tranquilizer dart needle. Velocity and calculated impact energy produced from 2.0-cc practice transmitter darts were recorded for treatment and control darts projected at a distance of 13.72 m at two velocities. Degree of dart penetration into a block comprised of layers of a foam insulation material was recorded. Relative accuracy of darts was also collected. While no differences were observed in dart accuracy, velocity, or projected impact energy (p > 0.05), penetration of darts into the insulation block at the higher test velocity was lower (p < 0.05) for treatment darts (11.82 ± 0.30 cm) compared to controls (13.17 ± 0.36 cm). However, dart penetration into the hip of a euthanatized dog was similar (p > 0.70) between the treatment (2.21 ± 0.77 cm) and controls (2.68 ± 0.96 cm) at the higher velocity. It also appeared that degree of dart penetration was highly influenced by the angle of impact relative to the tissue. Based on dart penetration results in animal tissue, the foam based dart modification was not an effective method to reduce impact force of tranquilizer darts.

Deer-vehicle collisions are on the rise and are a costly side-effect of increasing deer populations and expanding transportation systems. We evaluated the efficacy of sound as a deterrent for reducing deer-vehicle collisions by observing the behavioral response of captive and free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to 5 pure-tone sound treatments: 0.28 kHz, 1 kHz, 8 kHz, 15 kHz, and 28 kHz. We conducted preliminary trials with semi-tame deer at the University of Georgia Captive Deer Research Facility. We exposed 8 deer in a 0.25-ha outside paddock and 5 deer in individual stalls (2.7 m x 4.8 m) to the various treatments at >70 dB Sound Pressure Level. We recorded 406 observations and determined that the behavior of captive deer did not change when presented with any of the 5 pure-tone sound treatments. We also conducted field trials at Berry College Wildlife Refuge, Georgia and gathered 319 behavioral observations of free-ranging deer relative to a moving automobile (56.45 kph). The automobile was fitted with a sound-producing device and speakers that emitted one of the pure-tone sound treatments or no sound treatment as a control. For the 1 kHz, 8 kHz, 15 kHz, and 28 kHz sound treatments, we observed no change in deer behavior relative to the control. When exposed to the 0.28 kHz treatment, deer reacted in a manner more likely to cause deer-vehicle collisions. Our results indicate that deer within 10 m of roadways did not alter their behavior in response to the pure-tone sound treatments we tested in a manner that would prevent deer-vehicle collisions. Commercially available wildlife warning whistles (aka deer whistles) are purported to emit similar consistent, continuous sounds as pure tones at various frequencies within the range of those presented in this study. Our data suggests that deer-whistles, as they are purported to operate, are likely not effective in preventing deer-vehicle collisions.

It was hypothesized that an inexpensive string-based tracking system could be developed to aid in the recovery of animals using tranquilizer dart delivery systems. Terminal velocity data were initially collected for 0.5-cc, 1.0-cc, 2.0-cc, and 3.0-cc conventional practice darts when fired from a .22-caliber cartridge-type dart gun at incremental distances of approximately 10-30 m. A commercially available archery string-based tracking system was modified and fitted to the dart gun. Power charges and pressure settings were changed in an attempt to achieve similar characteristics of darts when incorporating the string tracking system. During field testing, 10 raccoons were darted using the system, with 9 animals recovered. Ten white-tailed deer were darted and successfully recovered. All darts were readily recovered. Results of this study indicate the string tracking system is an inexpensive and reliable technology to facilitate the recovery of tranquilized animals and darts.

Deer-vehicle collisions are a major concern throughout much of the World, accounting for human injury and death, damage to vehicles, and immeasurable waste of deer as a wildlife resource. Throughout the planning of our research project, we reviewed the primary literature to identify strategies with the most potential to reduce deer-vehicle collisions. Our review is available online as an annotated bibliography at: http://www.forestry.uga.edu/h/ research/wildlife/devices/GADOTLiteratureReview.pdf. Our findings indicated that most states in the U.S. have attempted to minimize deer-vehicle collisions through a variety of techniques. However, most studies have not empirically examined the efficacy of such techniques and many deer-deterrent devices were not designed with an understanding of the sensory capabilities of deer. Many previous studies also were isolated in scope or were inadequately replicated to afford statistical validity. Hence, the questions regarding efficacy of many deer deterrent devices remain largely unanswered and there still exists a need for research on mitigation strategies based on the sensory abilities of deer. Until these research results become available, management efforts to minimize deer-vehicle collisions should focus on (1) implementing proper deer-herd management programs; (2) controlling roadside vegetation to minimize its attraction to deer and maximize visibility for motorists; (3) increasing motorist awareness of the danger associated with deer-vehicle collisions; (4) thoroughly monitoring deer-vehicle collision rates; and (5) encouraging communication and cooperation among governments, wildlife researchers, highway managers, motorists, and others involved in the issue of deer-vehicle collisions. We are conducting a research project designed to provide a more thorough understanding of the physiological processes driving white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) roadway behavior. Our ultimate goals are to use this knowledge to develop improved strategies designed to reduce deer-vehicle collisions.

The hearing range of white-tailed deer determined by using auditory brainstem response detected frequencies to at least 30 kHz.

Evaluation of harvest data remains one of the most important sources of information in the development of strategies to manage regional populations of white-tailed deer. While descriptive statistics and simple linear models are utilized extensively, the use of artificial neural networks for this type of data analyses is unexplored. Linear model was compared to Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models with Levenberg–Marquardt (L-M), Bayesian Regularization (BR) and Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG) learning algorithms, to evaluate the relative accuracy in predicting antler beam diameter and length using age and dressed body weight in white-tailed deer. Data utilized for this study were obtained from male animals harvested by hunters between 1977–2009 at the Berry College Wildlife Management Area. Metrics for evaluating model performance indicated that linear and ANN models resulted in close match and good agreement between predicted and observed values and thus good performance for all models. However, metrics values of Mean Absolute Error and Root Mean Squared Error for linear model and the ANN-BR model indicated smaller error and lower deviation relative to the mean values of antler beam diameter and length in comparison to other ANN models, demonstrating better agreement of the predicted and observed values of antler beam diameter and length. ANN-SCG model resulted in the highest error within the models. Overall, metrics for evaluating model performance from the ANN model with BR learning algorithm and linear model indicated better agreement of the predicted and observed values of antler beam diameter and length. Results of this study suggest the use of ANN generated results that are comparable to Linear Models of harvest data to aid in the development of strategies to manage white-tailed deer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although many aspects of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) biology and physiology have been studied thoroughly, few studies have examined deer perception. We obtained a behavioral measure of light-adapted visual sensitivity based on performance of 7 deer in forced-choice discrimination tests. We compared intensity thresholds at the short and long wavelengths of their purported visual spectrum. Utilizing an automated training device, we trained deer to discriminate between lit and unlit light-emitting diode (LED) lights expressing monochromatic wavelengths, and recorded performance across a series of decreasing intensities for each wavelength until deer could no longer discriminate the light stimulus. We regressed a best-fit logistic function to each deer's performance as intensity decreased at a single wavelength, demarcated the sensitivity threshold to that wavelength, and compared deer's sensitivity threshold across wavelengths. Our behavior-based sensitivity measurements agreed with previous estimates of white-tailed deer's cone photoreceptor sensitivity. We confirm that these cone photoreceptors contribute to deer behavior, and that deer have a greater perceptual sensitivity to shorter wavelengths and lower sensitivity to longer wavelengths. Our findings also suggest the deer have some sensitivity to ultraviolet light. The visual perception of the white-tailed deer is specialized for sensitivity during their crepuscular patterns, enables detection of predators along their horizon, and is well-adapted for a prey species. © 2014 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many aspects of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) biology and physiology have been studied thoroughly, few studies have confirmed deer cognitive perception, partly because of the difficulty of efficiently training sufficient numbers of deer to respond behaviorally in controlled experiments. We present a system that trains white-tailed deer to associate a supra-threshold, white-light stimulus with a food reward through operant conditioning techniques. The 'deer training apparatus' (DTA) automatically dispenses food, rings a start buzzer, randomly assigns a stimulus light over 1 of 2 troughs, and registers a deer's choice. If a deer goes to a trough with the light illuminated, then a correct choice is registered. All 6 deer tested met successful training criteria by Day 19, and a performance of 88.2% ± 3.9% correct choices by Day 25. We conclude that the DTA presents an effective and efficient way of training white-tailed deer, and provides an experimental platform for future research on behavior, perception, and preference. Thus, the DTA should be useful to researchers evaluating behavioral response of deer, and possibly other wild and domestic species, to various visual and auditory stimuli. © 2012 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although roadside fences have been proven effective at reducing deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs), information on how these fences alter deer behavior is lacking. We evaluated the effects of a traditional and a novel fencing design, constructed alongside a roadway, on movements and home ranges of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus). From January to April 2009, we fitted 14 adult female deer with Global Positioning System collars, programmed to collect ≥24 locations/day. In June 2009 we constructed a 3.2-km fence that included a 1.6-km section of 2.4-m vertical-wire fence and a 1.6-km section of a prototype outrigger fence (i.e., 0.6 m, shade-cloth [50% opaque plastic sheeting] on a 45° outrigger angled toward the deer attached to the top of a 1.2 m, vertical-wire fence). We retrieved collars between January and March 2010. We compared home ranges, fence crossings, and fence circumventions among deer that encountered the outrigger and 2.4-m fences as well as for deer that encountered neither fence (i.e., controls), before and after fence construction. Actual crossings of the fence area were reduced, postconstruction, by 98% and 90% for the 2.4 m and outrigger treatment groups, respectively, suggesting that the fences were sufficiently effective to simulate how deer respond to roadside barriers. Deer with pretreatment home ranges that approached or encompassed the fence endings maintained a high degree of site fidelity by circumventing the endings. This study highlights the importance of incorporating information on deer behavior and resource usage into DVC-reduction strategies. If these factors are not accounted for, DVC frequency will likely stay the same, or increase, near fence endings. Thus, roadside fences should likely end at natural barriers to deer movements (i.e., heavy development) or incorporate some means of safe crossing into their endings. © 2011 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the behavioral responses of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to 4 colors of wildlife warning reflectors (red, white, blue-green, and amber) that are purported to reduce the incidence of deer-vehicle collisions. We observed white-tailed deer behaviors relative to roads before and after installation of wildlife warning reflectors using a forward-looking infrared camera during 90 observation nights. We concluded that wildlife warning reflectors were ineffective in changing deer behavior such that deer-vehicle collisions might be prevented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]