SC Lowcountry deer facts — including how to keep them away from your plants

With January 1st come and gone, meaning deer season has come to a close in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the white-tailed deer can take a break and relax until Aug. 15 rolls around when the hunting season starts up again.

It’s almost like the deer can sense that hunting season is over now, and that for at least eight months, they don’t have to stay in the alert mode all the time. They seem more active, feeding on the abundant acorn crop this year and fattening up for the rest of our cold winter months.

Of all the wild animals of North America the best friend of the early pioneer was the white-tailed deer. Its flesh (venison) formed their main food, actually saving lives when crops failed. Their hides were used to make buckskin jackets, britches and moccasins.

Between 1800 and 1900, the deer population plummeted because of commercialism for their hides. Then in 1900 Congress passed the Lacey Act, which placed regulations on interstate trafficking of wildlife, providing more protection for wildlife and creating more funding for wildlife management.

In 1972, the white-tailed deer became the official state animal for South Carolina.

Statewide, hunting rules and regulations are divided into four zones across the state, with Beaufort County being in Game Zone 3, having the longest hunt time.

Of course, during the hunt season, not only is the avid hunter in search of the deer for its venison, but also staying on the alert for a buck with a nice rack of antlers.

A young buck in his second year develops his first pair of spike-like antlers. Each year he sheds them and a larger set grows in. By his sixth year his antlers are fully grown and do not change much after the annual shedding.

Some folk mistakenly call deer antlers “horns.” There are two kinds of horn: 1) the continued growth of bone; and 2) the hardening of the epidermis. A deer’s antlers are examples of the first kind of horn, which is really a bone outgrowth. During the growing period, these horns are covered with a sensitive velvety skin, which later peels off, leaving the hard, solid antler, which are shed once a year.

If you’ve ever noticed deer tracks in the sand, you will see a variation in the hoof prints left there. Deer belong to the family Cervidae of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed hoofed animals), so they run on two toes. A deer’s feet are actually two elongated toes making their hooves look like big, thick toenails.

When trying to figure out the difference of a doe footprint and a buck footprint, you need to consider the size and proportions of the deer. A buck has a large chest and narrow rear, whereas a doe has a narrow chest and slightly larger rear in comparison.

A doe’s casual rear track should be slightly outside of the front tracks. Sometimes a small buck track and a large doe track will look similar due to the weight of the small buck. A big buck track, one with a lot of weight, will cause the hooves to splay apart on the front feet.

A mature or really large deer, probably 180-200 pounds, will leave what’s called a “hock-mark,” which is the two parts of the hoof — left and right. When a deer senses danger, a forefoot is lifted slowly, held for a moment, and then slammed downward releasing scent from the interdigital gland. The scent glands are between the two parts of the hoof on all four feet.

Deer are among the most graceful of all hoofed animals, noted for their running, at times up to 25 mph, and their ability to jump. All running deer will have splayed front hooves. When attacked, deer use their antlers and their sharp front hooves as weapons.

The scientific name of white-tailed deer is Odocoileus virginianus, or Virginia Deer. Mostly herbivores, they feed on a variety of vegetation, but acorns are preferred over most food sources. If acorns are scarce, they will feed on corn, soybeans, apples, wild berries, Pindo Palm fruit, and most green vegetation, including prized potted plants in flower beds or ornamental trees if accessible.

White-tailed deer are crepuscular, meaning they feed shortly before dawn for a few hours, then again from late afternoon until dusk. Homeowners having certain plants the deer like to dine on may need to spray-mist the plants with a mixture of egg and water, which sends off an aroma like sulphur that offends the deer.

I’ve sprayed rows of field peas in the garden with this mixture and, when following their tracks to the garden, noted that when arriving at the first row of peas, “The buck stopped there”!

Jean Tanner may be reached at jstmeema@hargray.com.

This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 5:30 AM.