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SAMUEL: How are deer able to find food?

I know hunting season is drawing to a close, but last week I wrote about deer vision, and one of my readers wrote and asked why I haven’t written about another sense that deer have … their nose. Here is a little bit about a complex subject. Has this ever happened to you when hunting? On a cold November morning a hunter walks to his tree stand before daylight. He sits all day and sees nothing, but he knows there is a big buck in the area so the next morning he goes again. He notes the wind and enters the stand on a different path than the one he took the morning before. He sits ...

SAMUEL: Eye position important for turkeys and deer

Years ago one of my graduate students was taking imprinted wild turkeys into the field to see what they ate. Often I’d tag along. Several times I noticed that the poults (about 10 weeks of age) would stop and look into the sky then seek cover. At first I thought they were spotting hawks in the air, but I never saw one. Then one day I realized they were seeing jet planes 30,000 feet up. Amazing. It turns out that turkeys have very good vision and detect movements really well. Their eyes are at the side of their head and each eye is constantly on the lookout for ...

SAMUEL: Drought and heat causing wildlife problems

MORGANTOWN -- The hot November days have really impacted the bow deer season. Bucks are rutting and does are ready, but the abnormal hot weather has impacted their movement in the day.  Harvests are being made, but those big bucks just aren’t moving much during the day. One rule of thumb: I always used the temperature at night. When the temperature got below 45 or so, I found that buck movements in November increased and sightings did, too.  I had friends in Kansas two weeks ago hunting on private land where big bucks are common, yet the hot weather really limited ...

SAMUEL: Elk lottery brings big money to Virginia         

MORGANTOWN -- Between 2012 and 2014, elk were reintroduced into Virginia in Buchanan County. Now there are an estimated 250 elk in that area, and six hunters had the opportunity to harvest a bull from October 8-14, 2022. Virginia’s wildlife agency established an Elk Management Zone in ...

Best Virginia eliminated from TBT after Red Scare dominates in Elam Ending

MORGANTOWN -- Best Virginia was hit with two untimely nightmares Friday night in the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament (TBT). Scoochie Smith was one. The Elam Ending was the other. Smith finished with 17 points and eight assists and Jordan Sibert added 12 points to lead the Red ...