Hunting Wildlife Information

Deer Quick Facts: Axis Deer Fallow Deer  Mule Deer  Sika Deer  White-tailed Deer Wapiti or Elk

White Tail Deer 

A Hunter's Guide to Aging and Judging Live White-Tailed Deer in the Southeast
Mississippi State University Extension Service

Antlers — The Stuff of Dreams by Ken Gee   For most white-tailed deer hunters, antlers are what make the world go 'round. Since these head ornaments are so alluring, I thought we'd take a closer look at what they are and how they develop.

White Tail Deer Antler Score - A Pictorial Presentation:  From a hunting and economic perspective, white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, is the most important wildlife species in the eastern half of the U.S. More landowners and hunters in this region are interested in white-tailed deer than in any other wildlife species. Many, if not most, deer hunters and deer managers want to harvest bucks with large antlers. Antler size and corresponding antler score typically increase as a buck ages. In many areas, buck age is the factor that most limits antler size of male white-tailed deer even though nutrition and genetics also play important roles

Can White-tailed Deer be Aged by their Teeth? by Ken Gee   A generation of wildlife biologists has been taught a method of aging white-tailed deer using teeth wear and eruption patterns from the lower jaw.

How Do You Measure the Success of Your Deer Season? by Grant Huggins   The Boone and Crockett score of your biggest buck? The pounds of venison you put in the freezer? The number of deer you harvested? The number of days you spent hunting? There are probably as many answers as there are hunters.  

Passing the Buck by Grant Huggins   Every time hunters pull the trigger or decide not to, they are making a management decision affecting the future of the herd they are hunting. In deer management circles, "passing the buck" has a positive, rather than a negative, connotation.

Mule Deer 

Mule Deer Foundation - Ensuring the conservation of mule deer, black tailed deer and their habitats.

Texas Mule Deer - Texas Wildlife Association article on Mule Deer.

Waterfowl

Ducks at a Distance Identifying waterfowl gives many hours of enjoyment to millions of people. This guide will help you recognize birds on the wing - it emphasizes their fall and winter plumage patterns as well as size, shape, and flight characteristics. It does not include local names. Recognizing the species of ducks and geese can be rewarding to birdwatchers and hunters - and the ducks.

Exotics

Axis Deer - The Axis Deer, and how they're impacting parts of the USA.  

Texotics  - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine.  The booming exotics business has led to a population explosion of species such as sika and axis deer.

Handbook of Texas; Exotics - The term exotic is commonly applied in Texas to foreign big game acquired by private landowners and released within fenced enclosures or allowed to range free.

Nilgai, Boselaphus tragocamelus; Blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra;

TPWD Exotics Publications:

Turkey

National Wild Turkey Federation - The NWTF is a grassroots, nonprofit organization with 545,000 members in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and 14 other foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.

Predators

Quick Facts: Coyote, Gray Wolf, Red Wolf,  Swift or Kit Fox, Red Fox, Common Gray Fox

Predator Guards for Nest Boxes by Mike Porter   Predator guards for nest boxes minimize predation of eggs, nestlings, and adult birds at the boxes. Predation is a major cause of mortality among cavity nesting birds.

Quail & Upland Birds

Quail Forever - America's Leader in Quail Conservation

Quail Species - Quail Forever - Different Quail Species

Dove

Know Your Doves - Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.

Dove Species - Dove Species Found in North America

Dove Field Preparation - There's More Than One Way To Skin a Cat
Tim White, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Hogs & Javelina

Learn About Javelina - Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.

Feral Hogs - Texas Parks & Wildlife

Stay Healthy on Your Hunt - This brochure produced by federal agencies aimed at helping to prevent human brucellosis infections from wild hog hunting.

History and Distribution of Feral Hogs - National Cooperative Extension Resource

Varmits 

Varminter.com - Varmint Hunting online magazine

Non-game Animals TPWD - Overview of non-game animals from the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Alligator

Quick Facts: American Alligator  American Crocodile

Mammals of Texas - Online edition; In The Mammals of Texas, Drs. William B. Davis and David J. Schmidly bring together over 70 years of experience in the study of Texas mammals. A completely revised and updated version of William B. Davis's classic text, which was first published in 1947, The Mammals of Texas is a perennial favorite, going through four reprints and revisions during the past 47 years.