Spring Forage Selection by Tame Mule Deer on Big Sagebrush Range, British Columbia

Abstract

A study was made on a spring range to determine forage selection by deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) during a critical period in their nutritive status. The period from mid-February to the end of May was characterized by a diet changing from shrub to grass to shrub and forb. Generally, selection favoured the most recently produced grass and forb species. Of the grass species, Sandberg bluegrass (Poa sandbergii) constituted the most bites in the diet but bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) was preferred. Considerable variation occurred in the diets among the deer. One deer preferred shrubs while the other two preferred grass.