daughters. We strongly suspected that some groups contained 

 at least 4 generations; including at least 3 adult generations 

 and the fawns of females 2-years or older. 



Sisters, both twins and sisters of different ages, were 

 closely associated, often occurring in the same matrilineal 

 group, especially if at least one did not have fawns. We were 

 not able to determine the associations of sisters in cases 

 where the matriarch was dead, but combined information from 

 marked deer indicated that sisters were somewhat less closely 

 associated than mother-daughter combinations. 



The only other social group we observed with a potential 

 for relatively long-term stability occurred among mature 

 males. Our data on these groups were limited, but males were 

 commonly observed in groups from late January through early 

 October, and some individuals were relatively closely 

 associated with each other during that period. Agonistic 

 behavior of mature males toward each other during the breeding 

 season disrupted these groups, but they re-formed by late 

 January or early February. High hunting mortality limited the 

 opportunity for long-term association of individual males, 

 thus lessening the likelihood of long-term stability. 



There was a tendency, at least during summer and autumn, 

 for females with fawns and mature males to be socially and 

 spatially separated. That indicated social and physiological 

 requirements may differ between sexes (Verme 1988) and that 

 competition for forage and cover between males and their 

 offspring probably was reduced. 



Because 70% of yearling males emigrated from their natal 

 home ranges, the opportunity for inbreeding was reduced 

 considerably. Additionally, as a result of several causes, 

 primarily pre-rut hunting mortality, a minimum of 4 of 17 

 non-dispersing males were known not to have bred with their 

 mothers or sisters. Based on suspected additional hunting 

 loss, that number probably was higher. Including the 

 dispersing males, a maximum of 23% of yearling males could 

 have possibly bred with their mothers or sisters. Although a 

 small percentage of yearling males remained on or near their 

 natal range, matrilineal groups did not contain males. In one 

 case, a yearling male was in the same group as his mother in 

 autumn prior to the rut, but no males were ever observed with 

 their mother during or following their first rutting season. 



The low rate of dispersal by yearling females made 

 father-daughter incest theoretically more likely than son- 

 mother or brother-sister incest. The high rate of hunting 

 mortality for mature males reduced that theoretical 

 probability considerably, however. The father faces the last 

 part of a hunting season after the daughter is conceived and 



207 



