40 -i 



Autumn 



Early Winter 



Spring 



-i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — i — P — i — T"~1 — i — i — i — i 

 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 



Group Size 



Figure 7.10 



Percent of all deer occurring in various 

 sized groups during autumn, early winter, 

 and spring. 



Associations of Genetically Related Individuals 



Mother-Son and Sister-Brother Relationships 



Very few mother-son or sister-brother combinations 

 remained associated with each other after 1 year of age. At 

 12-14 months of age, 40 (70%) of 57 marked yearling males 

 monitored, dispersed from their natal home range and 29 (51%) 

 of those left the study area (Table 7.7). This meant that 

 after 14 months of age (before their first breeding season), 

 70% of all males were no longer associated with their mother 

 or sisters. Opportunity for the remaining males to associate 

 or breed with relatives was also limited. 



Among 17 yearling males that had not left their natal 

 home range by late August, at least 4 had no opportunity to 

 breed with maternally related females. Three of these were 

 shot before the rut, and 1 dispersed 5 km away prior to the 

 rut and did not return until afterward. Five others used 

 areas that included their natal range during their first 

 breeding season. Of these, 1 used an area that included its 



194 



