recruited fawns at above average rates during 2 prior drought 

 years. Similarly, weights and antler characteristics of both 

 yearling and 2-year-old males were above average during autumn 

 1987, but weights of adult females were below average after 2 

 years of above average fawn recruitment. Yearling females had 

 not undergone lactation stress and were above average in 

 weight during 1987. 



Percent Femur Marrow Fat and Kidney Fat Index 



Percent femur marrow fat (FMF) and a kidney fat 

 index (KFI) can indicate physical condition in ungulates, 

 especially when both measurements are recorded (Riney 1955 and 

 Ransom 1965). We collected consistent data on FMF and KFI 

 only from December 1983 through December 1985, when deer were 

 in the poorest condition of recent times (Table 4.9). As 

 reported by Ransom (1965), significant utilization of FMF did 

 not begin during winter 1983-84 until the kidney fat index 

 declined below about 30. Fat reserves of deer declined over 

 winter 1983-84, as would be expected, but deer were in 

 relatively better condition during that winter of high 

 mortality than during the winter of 1984-85 when mortality was 

 less than or equal to that during winter 1983-84. Average FMF 

 levels for adult females collected during March 1985 were 41% 

 below those for adult females collected during March 1984, but 

 mortality rates of fawns and adults were nearly the same 

 during the 2 winters. 



Table A. 9. Average kidney fat indexes (KFI) and average percentage femur 

 marrow fat (FMF) for adult female mule deer collected or shot 

 by hunters in the Missouri River Breaks, 1983-1985. 



Four of 10 adult females collected during March and April 

 1985 had FMF levels (10-12%) equivalent to 3 deer from 

 adjacent areas that were known to have died of malnutrition 

 during winter (7-11%). Femur marrow fat levels indicated that 

 40% of females collected during March were in very poor 



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