How old was this Ohio doe?
Filed under: Deer Biology, How Old Is This Buck?
Recently Grant was Ohio’s gun season and while aging deer for Division of Wildlife surveys a doe was checked it and whenever I opened her mouth I couldn’t believe how old she was (guessing her at 7.5). With division of wildlife we age .5- 4.5. Once we determine a deer is over 4.5 we call it 4.5+. But I’m really curious to see what you think of her age. I was fortunate that the guy who killed the deer didn’t want the jawbones and gave me permission to take them. Now I know its difficult once a deer reaches a certain age and also i know every deer is unique and may age different than others. Regardless Id like to have a more professional observation because I have only been surveying deer for 3 years.
Thank You,
Garrett
Garrett,
Thanks for sharing the kind words!
Those are nice quality pictures! As you know, estimating a deer’s age using the wear and replacement technique isn’t 100% accurate. It appears this deer had an abscess that may have caused an different rate of wear than normal. Taking that into consideration, I estimate this deer was at least 5.5 years old and maybe older.
Enjoy creation,
grant
December 21, 2015