My wife and I disagree on how deer in the south are small compared to the deer up in the north. I say it cause of the vast amounts of feed through out the year. My wife says it because they are small cause of the brush that they walk through whos right whos wrong.
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My wife and I disagree on how deer in the south are small compared to the deer up in the north. I say it cause of the vast amou
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Biologists say it has to do with the weather being colder as you go North. Larger animals maintain body heat more efficiently. On the other hand smaller animals are better at handling the heat down South. The smallest Whitetails are the Florida Key deer.
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Del is correct. It is related to holding body heat more effectively. But good food resources help out also. It is not uncommon to see deer here in the south exceed 200 pounds or even more in areas of good habitat where they do not exceed carrying capacity. There is an Island off of our coast where deer were not hunted and allowed to over populate. When hunts were allowed to begin the average size of the deer was 25 - 30 lbs live weight. After 20 plus years of management the average size is over 70.
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Del is on the right track, it really has to do with surface area to body mass ratio. A larger animal actually has a lower surface area to body mass ratio and therefore can retain heat better because there is less area for the heat to escape compared to the total mass of the animal. The smaller deer has a higher ratio and this helps it stay cool because there is more area to release heat.
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