Deer, Too, Get Long in the Tooth

By MSU News Service

11/7/01

           BOZEMAN--How do you tell how old a deer is? Why would you want to know?

            For one thing, knowing a deer’s age and comparing that to its physical condition tells game managers how healthy the habitat is.

            A deer’s size is not a reliable indicator of age. A well-fed yearling can be much bigger than a poorly fed 3-year old. Counting antler points isn’t much more useful. Apart from the fact that antlers aren’t found on does, a well-fed yearling could be a 4 x 4 buck, and a poorly fed 7-year-old could be only a 2 x 2.

            According to Jim Knight, the Montana State University Extension wildlife specialist, the best quick way for landowners and hunters to tell the age of a deer is to look closely at the teeth and note tooth replacement and wear. As a deer ages its teeth wear in predictable patterns.

            “Determining the Age of a Deer,” a new MontGuide fact sheet from MSU Extension Service, shows those patterns in progressive photos of deer jaws and teeth. At six months of age a young deer has fewer than six teeth on each side. At 4-1/2 years, the teeth’s sharp edges have been blunted, and some teeth are badly worn. At 7-1/2 years, tooth wear is pronounced.

            Knight explains that knowing the age of deer helps game managers make sense of such observations as the relative number of spikes (unbranched antlers) in yearlings, the proportion of yearling males to mature bucks, and the proportion of older does to younger deer. For example, if a 7-year-old buck is small-antlered, there may be a problem with the herd’s nutrition, causing poor body conditions, reduced reproduction, and undesirable antler characteristics.

           In turn, better understanding of a herd’s condition helps managers assess forage conditions, evaluate brush control and livestock management programs, and determine optimal deer harvest levels.

            The fact sheet is available on the Web at www.montana.edu/publications. (Click on “Wildlife.”) You can pick up a free printed copy from your local MSU Extension office; ask for publication MT 2001-07. Or you can order a copy from Extension Publications, MSU, P.O.Box 172040, Bozeman MT 59717-2040. Please enclose $1 for handling.

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Send questions or comments to Carol Flaherty, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717 or email Flaherty at carolf@montana.edu.

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