Resumo

UVALLE SAUCEDA, José I.; ONTIVEROS CHACON, Juan C.; GONZALEZ SALDIVAR, Fernando  e  MORENO DEGOLLADO, Gustavo. Morphometric assessment of white-taled fawns (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, 1780) reared in captivity. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2013, vol.4, n.17, pp.84-97. ISSN 2007-1132.

This study was conducted at the Centro de Mejoramiento Genético de Venado Cola Blanca of the Centro de Producción Agropecuaria UANL; from the 92% of births that were obtained, 44 fawns (60% males and 40% females) reared in captivity and fed with milk formulas, were assessed in their birth weight as well as during their lactation period (116 days), when their growth was recorded by body measurements. In regard to the correlations of the latter with the weight and age of fawns, higher ratios were found in weight with age. Chest circumference had the highest correlations with an r² = 0.93 for weight and r² = 0.86 forage (P ≤ 0.05), and the lowest were in the length of the femur with r² = 0.60 and r² = 0.47 (P ≤ 0.05). The use of indirect estimates of weight, age and body condition, generated from linear regression equations and correlations with some body measure or index, are tools to help wildlife managers monitor weight, body condition, growth and development of individuals in order to know the nutritional status of the population.

Palavras-chave : Body condition; age; estimators; body measurements; weight; white-tailed deer.