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Post by mudstrider on Nov 28, 2006 9:17:32 GMT -5
I shot a doe at JP on Thanksgiving morning that the CO couldn't correctly determine the age of. The molars had been worn smooth and his chart only went to 7.5 years with some of the cusps still left. From appearances, the deer just looked like a nice mature doe; couldn't tell she was old. One time I did see a really old doe that was gray-headed and blind in one eye.
Does anybody know what the life expectancy is of a healthy deer? Seems it must be at least 12-15 years. Thanks.
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Post by LawrenceCoBowhunter on Nov 28, 2006 9:20:36 GMT -5
I would guess 9-12 anyways.
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Post by kyle on Nov 28, 2006 10:42:31 GMT -5
The record is 22 years old I do believe. My buddy shot a doe last Friday and all she had was six teeth, no molars or nothing. I would have liked to see how old she really was.
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Post by mbogo on Nov 28, 2006 10:43:47 GMT -5
Wild does rarely live past 10, but some in captivity have lived more than 15 years.
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Post by 10point on Nov 28, 2006 12:17:34 GMT -5
I shot a doe at JP on Thanksgiving morning I'm curious, were you bowhunting or does JP bonus permits? Though it might be a good place to hunt doe sometime during muzzleloader if they hadn't been hunted by guns yet. |
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Post by Woody Williams on Nov 28, 2006 17:58:04 GMT -5
WORLD'S OLDEST WHITETAIL DEER DIES
[By Russell Sawchuk from information provided by Harold Kriesche of the Deer Ranch and Richard P. Smith. Also see our article on Elizabeth in the March 2000 edition of the Digest.]
Elizabeth, believed to be the oldest whitetail doe in the world, died on January 27, 2002. She was 24 years and 7 months old when she passed away of old age at the Deer Ranch in Michigan USA.
Elizabeth was owned by Harold Kriesche and his wife Sally. The Kriesches bought their deer business in 1988 which included Elizabeth, who was 11 years old at that time. Elizabeth was born on June 3, 1977.
Elizabeth produced 38 fawns in her lifetime, including twins in May 2001. Elizabeth didn't have her first fawn until she was 2 years of age in 1979. She had a single fawn that year. Starting in 1980, she consistently produced twins every year through to 1990, except in 1988. Through 1989, at the age of 21, the doe had produced a total of 20 fawns. She almost doubled that figure by the time she reached 24 in 2001 with 38 fawns.
Kriesche said he tried to put Elizabeth on birth control in 1998 when she was 21 years old, thinking he would make it easier on the old deer by reducing the drain associated with fawn reproduction. However, Harold's efforts to prevent the doe from conceiving didn't work. She gave birth to a male and female fawn on May 24, 1999 and had twins in 2000 and 2001.
Wild whitetails seldom exceed 10 years of age, but a few deer of both sexes do manage to live longer than normal. Does have a better chance of reaching older age than bucks because they don't endure the stress associated with the rut. Deer without antlers are also more likely to be passed up by hunters. The oldest doe taken by a hunter in Michigan was an amazing 19.5 years old. That doe was shot during the 1967 hunting season and her age was determined from her teeth. Does that were 14.5 and 15.5 years of age have also taken by hunters.
I'm sure Elizabeth will be missed at the Deer Ranch as she was a very productive member of the family.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2006 7:45:46 GMT -5
The certainly cant get very old in Grappledad's neck of the woods!  I had a state biologist age one of mine at the Knightstown Locker one year and he said she was 8.5 or older. |
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