Individual quality of roe deer from field and forest hunting districts in the West Polesie Region

Abstract

The assessment of individual quality of roe deer originating from diverse habitats in Western Polesie was carried out on the basis of variability analysis of male, female, and fawn carcasses achieved in the hunting season 2008/2009. Evaluation of male antler weight variability was an additionally analyzed element. Variability in weights of carcass and antlers in roe deer males originating from the field and forest hunting circles within the analyzed area was recorded. Individuals from field circles prevailed in reference to both carcass and antlers weight. Correlation coefficients between carcass weight vs. antlers weight for both analyzed habitats were similar, and the values were statistically significant. The highest rate of body weight gain was observed in the group of the youngest animals, which could be attributed to the intensive somatic development of animals in that life period. Carcass weight of roe deer females increased during the life, while the feature variability in animals originating from different hunting circles types was negligible and statistically insignificant, although animals from field circles prevailed in the majority of age groups. Considering fawns, larger body weight diversification occurred in reference to sex rather than site where they were obtained, though these differences were statistically insignificant. Results of bi-factorial variance analysis taking into account the interaction between the animals’ age and origin indicated that body weight variability in adult roe deer – regardless of their sex – was determined by the age, while male antlers weight was affected both by the animal's age and habitat. For fawns, carcass weight depended mainly on sex, not the origin.