Tracking of white-tailed deer migration by global positioning system

Abstract

We used global positioning system (GPS) radiocollars on female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to document details of onsets of migrations, rates of travel, patterns of travel, durations of migrations, and distances traveled by 8 deer in spring and 4 deer in autumn in northeastern Minnesota in 1998, 1999, and 2001. In spring, deer migrated 23-45 km during 31-356 h, deviating a maximum 1.6-4.0 km perpendicular from a straight line of travel between their seasonal ranges. They migrated a minimum of 2.1-18.6 km/day over 11-56 h during 2-14 periods of travel. Minimum travel during 1-h intervals averaged 1.5 km/h (SD = 0.6, n = 27). Deer paused 1-12 times, averaging 24 h/pause (SD = 29, n = 43, range 19-306 h/pause). Deer migrated similar distances in autumn with comparable rates and patterns of travel. A difference of 1.9- to 7.5-fold in duration of migrations by deer migrating the same distances suggests that much of the variation in durations may be independent of migration distance.