The Attractiveness of a Liquid Bait to White-Tailed Deer in the Central Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, USA

Abstract

We determined the attractiveness of a bait composed of apple juice, apple odor, water, glycerin, and salt to captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at the National Zoological Park Conservation and Research Center, Front Royal, Virginia, USA. Thirty-nine deer (three adult males, 20 adult females, eight male fawns, eight female fawns) were presented with the bait formulation in a 22-ha enclosure during January, February, and May 1994. Daily consumption, and the frequency of visits to bait dispensers and the frequency of drinking bouts were recorded. Overall consumption was greatest in May (P < 0.001). While adults and fawns visited bait dispensers equally often, fawns drank more frequently (P < 0.001).