On a side note, that female Fox news presenter doesnt really do a 'clean' speech, eh? Doesnt seem to me as 'professional'.
Deer with 5 Legs Killed
- Thread starter neoprodigy
- Start date
I realize that the deer did look a little sick and skinny, "BUT" if it wasn't, just think if they didn't take that deer out of the herd that you "COULD" have a whole whole herd of deer with 5 legs or other serious birth defects in a few years. It's more of a herd management thing. Just like with us fish guys/gals if we have a messed up fish are you going to keep it around and breed it to make more???
hbluehunter;1171420; said:
Most of us wouldn't (I wouldn't) but there are a lot of members here with a taste for freaks.
I have to say. With deer having less natural predators and with humans mostly hunting for top animals in a herd I wonder what the future deer herds will be like, this sort of thing may become more common.
no he shouldn't have, theres a chance it would have survived and reproduced, leaving a 50/50 chance that its offspring might have another deformity, its not good to have that kind of mess going on
The story is a bit sketchy, he says he saw the mother abandon it and that most of the herd rejected it... so if that were to happen, its chances that it would be picked off by a predator, not a hunter, sky rocket. Didn't anyone every learn about Darwin? Even if it were to survive until adult hood, if it was rejected, males would not want to breed with it naturally because they would see the defect, or see the deer as a loner, being weaker from being alone. And if it did breed, the reason for its leg could have been the cause of several mutations, most likely there was a mutation with the HoX genes during development. Most of the time when this happens with mammals there is a missacarriage. This was rare for it to be born and live, and the chances of its offspring to have the mutation and live would also be rare.
So he could have shot it, which he did, but if he let it live, the chances of it surviving, and there being herds of 5 legged deer running about the country, are about the same chances of Bush pulling out all out troops from Iraq by tomorrow.
Global warming is making a lot more things "common" these days.... and let the war begin...
So he could have shot it, which he did, but if he let it live, the chances of it surviving, and there being herds of 5 legged deer running about the country, are about the same chances of Bush pulling out all out troops from Iraq by tomorrow.
sandtiger;1173033; said:
Global warming is making a lot more things "common" these days.... and let the war begin...
Fish_are_fishfood;1173074; said:The story is a bit sketchy, he says he saw the mother abandon it and that most of the herd rejected it... so if that were to happen, its chances that it would be picked off by a predator, not a hunter, sky rocket. Didn't anyone every learn about Darwin? Even if it were to survive until adult hood, if it was rejected, males would not want to breed with it naturally because they would see the defect, or see the deer as a loner, being weaker from being alone. And if it did breed, the reason for its leg could have been the cause of several mutations, most likely there was a mutation with the HoX genes during development. Most of the time when this happens with mammals there is a missacarriage. This was rare for it to be born and live, and the chances of its offspring to have the mutation and live would also be rare.
So he could have shot it, which he did, but if he let it live, the chances of it surviving, and there being herds of 5 legged deer running about the country, are about the same chances of Bush pulling out all out troops from Iraq by tomorrow.
Global warming is making a lot more things "common" these days.... and let the war begin...
You mention predators but forget that in much of their range the predators of whitetail deer have been killed off or are rare. I don't recall where the hunt took place but a good example is here in NY. We have tons of WTD and virtually no predators. Wolves and mountain lions have been killed off. All we have are coyotes who rarely hunt deer and humans who prefer superior animals. It is up to us to manage these populations and part of that is removing sick or deformed animals. That deer was both. We don't know if it would have lived or died and we don't know if it would have bred. The hunter says other deer ignored it but I honestly don't put much stock in that. Had it been left alive and did breed you're right, we would not see a population increase in 5 legged deer (I don't recall anyone saying that) but it certainly would not have had anything positive to offer.
sncboom;1173076; said:
I happen to live within 5 minutes of the worlds largest herd of white WTD (not albino but they are completely white). Not only do I see tons of white deer fairly often but there are also deer that are both brown and white.
http://senecawhitedeer.org/
It was killed in west bend Wisconsin. There's not a lot of predator action in southern Wisconsin besides people and their cars. I think that the hunter did the right thing. There is a lot of support for herd management, which calls for the killing of weak or sick looking deer and bucks with undesired shaped racks. My family hunts for meat, not trophies, so we don't practice herd management, but if that's what he believes then he has the right, he bought the tag.
