February 01, 2011
Whitetails in Winter
By Brandon Wikman
The bone-chilling Canadian air has advanced across the Midwest. Daily temperatures have dive-bombed into the single digits, while the wind-chill has plummeted into the negative degree marks. Snow and sheets of ice frost the landscape as far as the eye can see. It is safe to say that we are in the heart of winter.
The remarkable ability for whitetails to cope with such harsh conditions never ceases to amaze me. The paralyzing wintry weather prods against the whitetail deer’s aptitude to survive. It is a yearly North Country battle that truly defines the old axiom, “Survival of the fittest.”
Small families of whitetail will usually cluster together in tight pockets of shelter, also known as deeryards. These dense havens of underbrush keep whitetail a few degrees warmer by blocking out the wind and winter weather elements. Doe and fawn stay together with their sisters, while many mature bucks seek refuge elsewhere.
Winter brings a new importance to food. A whitetail deer feeds every day, except during extremely nasty storms. In the case of numbing whiteout blizzards, deer will lie low and preserve their much-needed energy. Their calorie count is on a clock and forces life or death decisions. The forage of summer has all but disappeared. Tender grasses, agriculture fields and weeds have vanished. Deer turn to pine needles, evergreen trees and even tree bark.
As said, whitetail will generally not move during extremely frigid temperatures. They will sit tight and conserve as much energy as they can. They will find food, bed near it and lie low. This gives them an opportunity to survive during sub-arctic temperatures that we find common across the upper portions of the U.S. The hide that wraps their body is like a sleeping bag. Their fur is dense, which boosts their ability to stay warm. As many of us know, snow is an insulator, which keeps deer slightly warmer.
One of the most amazing points to note is that a whitetail’s blood flow varies according to different situations and circumstances. In freezing climates, such as Minnesota and upper Michigan, a whitetail’s blood flows to the brain and critical organs, such as the heart. The blood flow avoids the animals’ extremities because those are the least important parts of the body that will help them survive.
If a deer’s blood flowed to its legs, they’d lose heat and much colder blood would flow back into the deer’s body. This would make the animals much chillier and begin shutting down systems from hypothermia. The legs fall into a state of senseless stasis. This incredible capability of adaptation intrigues deer aficionados.
As humans drag out their winter jackets, snow-pants and gloves, deer grow their own jacket and let there body systems take control. This is just another astonishing attribute to the amazing world of whitetail deer.