Abstract
Rumen contents from 65 hunter-harvested deer were collected and analyzed during 1985-86 to estimate the principal autumn foods consumed by white-tailed deer inhabiting the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas River Valley, and Gulf Coastal Plain regions of Arkansas. Deer in the Ozarks and Coastal Plain fed heavily on woody browse species, which comprised 99% of rumina identified from these 2 regions. Acorns were the primary food of deer in these heavily forested areas. Acorns and other woody browse were less important to deer inhabiting the Arkansas River Valley. In this region of interspersed agricultural fields and bottomland forests, soybeans and corn comprised 75% of the diet, and acorns accounted for only 2%.
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Thomas A.; Eggering, Luke; and Adams, Danny
(1988)
"Autumn Foods of White-Tailed Deer in Arkansas,"
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 42, Article 19.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol42/iss1/19
