Natural Rates of Forest Decomposition

[Eastender]

I first found this dead deer on the forest floor back on 11-13-21. It was apparently a victim of a car strike. (I do find many deer that escaped the hunter, and after they decay I metal detect the slug or arrow tip that fell them). The second photo is of the same deer on 9-5-22. Interesting to see that a plant emerged from the gut area, most likely a seed that was part of its last meal. The third photo I took yesterday on 2-22-25. The bones are gone and the horns are gradually being eaten up, chewed on by rodents. Back into the forest the deer returns.

The following picture of the Luna Moth I took on a tree next to deer carcass at the time I took the second photo of bones. It's the largest moth species in my region, with a wingspan larger than my hand. Rarely seen, the only time we find them is when they are beaten and tattered next to bright outdoor lights.

I never detect with headphones on. I'm keyed into my total surroundings. I will always find treasure, just not all of it is metallic. Nature is both macabre and majestic. Nothing is wasted.

 

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[releventchair]

Deer have multiple stomachs. A muti faceted ruminant stomach might be a better description.
Acorns and other mast no problem.
Load up the belly then go loiter somewhere comfortable and bring some food up to chew fine between molars then swallow and ended up in a finer food level area. And repeat.

No upper teeth in front mean deer are also good at browsing stuff from forbs to thin hardwood branch tips.
I'm not overly sure but your plant might be greenbriar.

It likes sun and edges. And skin if you are wearing shorts.

Greenbrier – The Natural Evergreen Food Plot | Whitetails Unlimited

About J. Wayne Fears

www.whitetailsunlimited.com

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Lotta folks would have grabbed that rack, how did it last there so long? Almost looks like a bullet across the back, I don't see any road rash. Talk to the guys that hunt nearby if they lost one back then. If they can describe it as what they shot at and didn't recover perhaps let them come get it. I bet they want that rack. If nothing else to verify the story they have been telling and no one believes them . If the circumstance they describe was legal. You thought road kill so perhaps night poaching.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Deer have multiple stomachs. A muti faceted ruminant stomach might be a better description.
Acorns and other mast no problem.
Load up the belly then go loiter somewhere comfortable and bring some food up to chew fine between molars then swallow and ended up in a finer food level area. And repeat.

No upper teeth in front mean deer are also good at browsing stuff from forbs to thin hardwood branch tips.
I'm not overly sure but your plant might be greenbriar.

It likes sun and edges. And skin if you are wearing shorts.

Greenbrier – The Natural Evergreen Food Plot | Whitetails Unlimited

About J. Wayne Fears

www.whitetailsunlimited.com

Yup. They lay around and rechew stuff. I believe they are pretty good and destroying most seeds. I have seen a lot of deer droppings and never noticed any seeds. Perhaps I'll go out when the snow recedes and dissolve some. Cow manure on the other hand is a weed seed source. I have deer sleep right up against the house so not hard to find smart pills.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

IMO, the carcass just fertilized the soil allowing the seed to grow, whether under the deer or introduced after.
You must not have too many coyotes there, around here that deer would have been ripped apart and scattered, big bones only. Head and spine the only thing left.
Great observational pics though.

 

[ncsuwolf]

IMO, the carcass just fertilized the soil allowing the seed to grow, whether under the deer or introduced after.
You must not have too many coyotes there, around here that deer would have been ripped apart and scattered, big bones only. Head and spine the only thing left.
Great observational pics though.

Was thinking the same thing about scavengers. Amazing those bones were still intact in second pic

 

[Eastender]

Here on Eastern Long Island deer are a serious pest causing major damage and losses to agriculture and landscaping in addition to causing 100's of automobile accidents every year in my town alone. Given their numbers and the suburbanization of once rural areas, their palette has expanded to plants were are surprised they would even touch. When we have a good rainy Spring and Summer, it is not uncommon to see two calving cycles.

The pictured deer has a long strike mark across the back consistent with being hit by a car. I've metal detected around it and found neither bullet or arrow. I have seen several deer struck and propelled upwards off of the road only to then spring up and run back into the woods to die. There are no greenbriar patches in this stretch of woods. The mature oak canopy does not allow for an under story to grow. The greenbriar tends to like a little higher elevation. Patches are about 1/4 mile away. A lot of animals including deer eat greenbriar and their seeds. Can't rule out a raccoon feasting and crapping there but I though the proximity to the gut looked interesting. What that deer and many others are after is a large kettlehole fresh water supply. Certainly plenty of acorns as that is our dominant forest.

We only recently have had coyotes show up. I think the estimates are fewer than 5 in my town. I have seen only one in the wild here and that was pure luck. I happened to be staying put near an estuary teeming with birds. I've heard they made it onto Long Island by following the railroad tracks from upper NY and NJ. We have an increasing number of turkey vultures feeding on road kill which I don't ever remember seeing in previous decades. Since I live in a major tourist destination, we have many seasonal visitors from urban areas who have no idea about the presence of wildlife. Plus our roads are dark at night and they are not used to driving without streetlamps and urban glare. So lots of roadkill. The deer seem to have gotten smarter about crossing the roads, but during rut season all hell breaks loose and deer will even run into the sides of cars. In the past few years eagles have moved back into our estuaries and they are opportunistic feeders that will eat road kill (and people's pets). It's interesting that the large local populations of osprey do a good job at fighting off eagles. They are smaller but more adept fliers.

My area has large conservation and land preservation areas set aside, many total several hundreds of acres. This is financed by a real estate transfer tax which generates millions of dollars from pricey transactions. These become deer breeding grounds. They sleep and breed in these areas, then descend into neighborhoods at night to eat. Nearly all landscaping would get devoured without deer fencing. So the deer and people sort of have an uneasy truce where we manage to live together. Sometimes I approach bucks who will snort and stamp and hold their ground!

We not only have bow, black powder, and shotgun deer seasons, we also have many year-round nuisance permits. I routinely see trophy bucks in my backyard as seen in this recent pic, mere feet from my backdoor.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Here on Eastern Long Island deer are a serious pest causing major damage and losses to agriculture and landscaping in addition to causing 100's of automobile accidents every year in my town alone. Given their numbers and the suburbanization of once rural areas, their palette has expanded to plants were are surprised they would even touch. When we have a good rainy Spring and Summer, it is not uncommon to see two calving cycles.

The pictured deer has a long strike mark across the back consistent with being hit by a car. I've metal detected around it and found neither bullet or arrow. I have seen several deer struck and propelled upwards off of the road only to then spring up and run back into the woods to die. There are no greenbriar patches in this stretch of woods. The mature oak canopy does not allow for an under story to grow. The greenbriar tends to like a little higher elevation. Patches are about 1/4 mile away. A lot of animals including deer eat greenbriar and their seeds. Can't rule out a raccoon feasting and crapping there but I though the proximity to the gut looked interesting. What that deer and many others are after is a large kettlehole fresh water supply. Certainly plenty of acorns as that is our dominant forest.

We only recently have had coyotes show up. I think the estimates are fewer than 5 in my town. I have seen only one in the wild here and that was pure luck. I happened to be staying put near an estuary teeming with birds. I've heard they made it onto Long Island by following the railroad tracks from upper NY and NJ. We have an increasing number of turkey vultures feeding on road kill which I don't ever remember seeing in previous decades. Since I live in a major tourist destination, we have many seasonal visitors from urban areas who have no idea about the presence of wildlife. Plus our roads are dark at night and they are not used to driving without streetlamps and urban glare. So lots of roadkill. The deer seem to have gotten smarter about crossing the roads, but during rut season all hell breaks loose and deer will even run into the sides of cars. In the past few years eagles have moved back into our estuaries and they are opportunistic feeders that will eat road kill (and people's pets). It's interesting that the large local populations of osprey do a good job at fighting off eagles. They are smaller but more adept fliers.

My area has large conservation and land preservation areas set aside, many total several hundreds of acres. This is financed by a real estate transfer tax which generates millions of dollars from pricey transactions. These become deer breeding grounds. They sleep and breed in these areas, then descend into neighborhoods at night to eat. Nearly all landscaping would get devoured without deer fencing. So the deer and people sort of have an uneasy truce where we manage to live together. Sometimes I approach bucks who will snort and stamp and hold their ground!

We not only have bow, black powder, and shotgun deer seasons, we also have many year-round nuisance permits. I routinely see trophy bucks in my backyard as seen in this recent pic, mere feet from my backdoor.

I'd pay good $ for a vehicle with that sort of ground clearance. Cut the back of that buck without touching the rack or rolling the body?

That is not a vehicle wound.

Have you ever seen a road kill deer? Either smashed up & tossed aside or run over and mangled. There are not many other options.

But I surrender.

 

[Eastender]

I guess we will never know. I've watched many deer - car crashes and had two myself. Both times the deer bounced up and off to the side and kept moving after they hit the ground. As I've mentioned, my small town records many per year. A lot of them are on residential streets with cars traveling 35 - 40 mph. People are oblivious and it looks like slow motion to watch. The high speed crashed are quite gruesome and dangerous. The deer are propelled over the car, not under. I have also watched the police pull out their pistols and dispatch them on the road shoulder. I can't imagine hitting Moose in Maine!

Sometimes we have outbreaks of viral disease caused by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) or Bluetongue Virus (BT). The deer waste away and die dehydrated near waterholes. During the summer I have watched deer outside of my windows eating shrubbery and their faces are covered in engorged ticks.

I'm looking for antler drops and they are good indicators of deer health. Oddly enough, it seems as though the deer living in town are eating better than the forest dwellers.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

I guess we will never know. I've watched many deer - car crashes and had two myself. Both times the deer bounced up and off to the side and kept moving after they hit the ground. As I've mentioned, my small town records many per year. A lot of them are on residential streets with cars traveling 35 - 40 mph. People are oblivious and it looks like slow motion to watch. The high speed crashed are quite gruesome and dangerous. The deer are propelled over the car, not under. I have also watched the police pull out their pistols and dispatch them on the road shoulder. I can't imagine hitting Moose in Maine!

Sometimes we have outbreaks of viral disease caused by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) or Bluetongue Virus (BT). The deer waste away and die dehydrated near waterholes. During the summer I have watched deer outside of my windows eating shrubbery and their faces are covered in engorged ticks.

I'm looking for antler drops and they are good indicators of deer health. Oddly enough, it seems as though the deer living in town are eating better than the forest dwellers.

regards photo: bullet or broad head wound. Vehicles do not do surgical strikes.

 

[Eastender]

The latest statistics I can find for my town: "In 2021, in the town of East Hampton, there were at least 503 deer collisions on the roads. In 2020, there were 621."