Table 1, — Selected parameters of the Mendocino County deer 

 population as affected by alternative hunting strategies. 



stability had been attained. Year-to-year vari- 

 ability was suppressed to highlight the dif- 

 ferences among the hunting strategies. The 

 principal features of each strategy are sum- 

 marized below: 



1. No Hunting: This strategy is presented 

 mainly for comparison with the other 

 runs. It is characterized by a high buck: doe 

 ratio, low productivity, and high natural 

 mortality. 



2. Twenty-Five Percent Adult Bucks: This 

 is an estimate of the hunting effected in 

 Mendocino County during the past 10 + 

 years. Hunting is limited to males with 

 two or more points per antler. Natural 

 mortality is higher than in Strategy 1 

 because the population includes relatively 

 more does, as indicated by the buck: doe 



ratio, and the number of fawns born is, 

 therefore, higher. Fawns are most sus- 

 ceptible of all age classes to natural mor- 

 tality. Overall deer numbers do not differ 

 markedly between Strategies 1 and 2. 

 For every deer taken by hunters, about 

 12 die of starvation and other natural 

 causes. Although the management goals 

 are not explicitly defined, current regu- 

 lations result in the maintenance of maxi- 

 mum deer numbers and maximum natural 

 losses. This strategy provides no con- 

 straint upon overall deer numbers. 

 3. Forty-Five Percent Bucks, Thirty Per- 

 cent Does, and Fifteen Percent Faivns: 

 Where the hunter is allowed to select 

 either bucks or does, this strategy repre- 

 sents the results of the heaviest hunting 



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