essential to the species. The tidal areas of the inter- 

 mediate to brackish marshes are optimum otter feeding 

 grounds (G. Linscombe, pers. comm January 1978, 

 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton 

 Rouge, La.). The preferred habitats of otter in Missis- 

 sippi are deep-water swamps adjacent to, or closely 

 connected with, a large lake (Yeager 1938). 



Spoil deposits and levees are utilized for denning 

 areas. Thick mats of marsh grass and heavy vegetation 

 on levees, ridges, and spoil banks provide resting cover 

 and shelter. 



The otter feeds prmarily on aquatic animals. 

 Foods include crayfish, fishes, crabs, salamanders, 

 frogs, snails, turtles, snakes, slirimp, clams, water 

 beetles, and larvae of aquatic insects, as well as earth- 

 worms, muskrats, rails, waterfowl, rats, mice, and 

 carrion (St. Amant 1959, Schwartz and Schwartz 

 1959, McDaniel 1963, O'Neil and Linscombe 

 1976). 



Courtship and mating activities take place in water 

 (Liers 1951). Dens are located in banks and levees, old 

 muskrat houses, old nutria burrows, in hollow logs, 

 roots, and stumps, and even in thickets of vegetation 

 such as common reed (Yeager 1938, Schwartz and 

 Schwartz 1959, Wilson 1959, Lowery 1974b, O'Neil 

 and Linscombe 1976). Bank dens generally have an 

 entrance beneath the water surface. The entrance way 

 leads to a nest chamber above the high-water level and 

 the chamber may have a bare floor or a slight accumu- 

 lation of leaves and grass (Schwartz and Schwartz 

 1959, O'Neil and Linscombe 1976). 



New-born young are helpless for 5 to 6 weeks 

 (Liers 1951). They are weaned at four months but 

 usually remain with the mother until nearly full grown. 

 The male parent may assist in caring for young after 

 they leave the den (Schwartz and Schwartz 1959, 

 Lowery 1974b). 



With the conversion of wetlands to agricultural 

 and urban areas, otter habitat has dwindled in the Che- 

 nier Plain. Drainage of marsh habitats through dredging 

 activites is detrimental to otter populations. 



5.2.8 WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus 

 virginianus) 



White-tailed deer are relatively common in the 

 Chenier Plain. Largest populations are found in the 

 fresh and intermediate marshes. The species rarely oc- 

 curs in salt marshes, except in areas with abundant high 

 ground nearby (Self et al. 1974). Potential density of 

 deer is estimated at 1 deer/ 12 ha (30 a) in fresh marshes, 

 1 deer/ 134 ha (330 a) in brackish marshes, and 1 deer/ 

 2,892 ha (7,140 a) in salt marshes (letter dated 26 

 June 1972 from J. B. Kidd, Louisiana Department of 

 Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, La.). 



Home range for white-tailed deer is about 2.6 km^ 

 (1 mi^). Deer are normally crepuscular, but may feed 

 nocturnally under heavy hunting pressure. Seasonal 



movements are responses to changing climatic condi- 

 tions, food, cover and water availability, hunting pres- 

 sure, and breeding habits. White-tailed deer movement 

 patterns in the Chenier Plain have not been docu- 

 mented. 



Interspersion of habitat types is important for this 

 species. The wide variety of plants in fresh marshes 

 contributes to its high carrying capacity for white- 

 taUed deer (Self 1975). Chabreck (1972) identified 118 

 plant species in the Louisiana coastal marshes, of which 

 93 species (79%) were found in fresh marshes. Levees 

 and spoil banks in marsh areas provide a major portion 

 of the escape cover, travel lanes, and resting grounds 

 for deer (Self et al. 1974). These elevated areas increase 

 habitat diversity and support plant communities differ- 

 ent from adjacent marshes (Self et al. 1974). Glasgow 

 and Ensminger (1957) reported that after extensive 

 canal digging, white-tailed deer became more numerous. 

 The increase in number of deer was attributed to the 

 increased acreage of elevated land and the drainage of 

 adjacent marshland. During adverse weather conditions 

 such as floods and hurricanes, white-tailed deer heavily 

 utilize these higher elevations for food and cover. 



Vegetation supplies much of the water require- 

 ments for the deer (Lay 1969); however, Hosley (1956) 

 reports that at least one source of fresh water is neces- 

 sary. Alligator holes are important reservoirs of fresh- 

 water during periods of drought in the Everglades 

 (Loveless and Ligas 1959). 



Glasgow and Ensminger (1957) reported that deer 

 of southwestern Louisiana marshes preferred deer pea, 

 millet, spikerush, and water hyssop. Joanen et al. 

 (1972) listed alligatorweed as one of the most impor- 

 tant deer foods in the fresh marsh habitat. Doveweed, 

 stoneseed, panic grass, and new sprouts of Gulf cord- 

 grass are utilized on the Aransas National Wildlife Ref- 

 uge in Texas (Halloran 1943). 



Major browse species on coastal ridges are elder- 

 berry, smilax, blackberry, rattan, deer pea, aster, red 

 maple, wax myrtle, black willow, alligatorweed, various 

 sedges, and other aquatic and semiaquatic weeds (letter 

 dated 10 August 1976 from J. W. Farrar, Louisiana De- 

 partment of Wildlife and Fisheries, 400 Royal Street, 

 New Orleans, La.). 



Self et al. (1974) and Short (1975) reported that a 

 wide variety of foods were utilized by white-tail deer 

 from May to mid-September, but the number of species 

 of plants available became less numerous from Septem- 

 ber to mid-February. Their diet is limited to foods that 

 are available within the travel range because white-tailed 

 deer do not necessarily move out of an established 

 territory to areas with greated availability of food (Lay 

 1969). 



Does randomly select areas isolated from other 

 deer to give birth (Michael 1965, White et al 1972). 

 During the first month, new-born fawns remain hidden 

 in heavy cover and are cared for and fed by the doe, 

 often only twice a day (Jackson et al. 1972). In the 

 Chenier Plain, the heaviest cover for fawns is found on 

 elevated areas. 



230 



