Testing Some Elements of the Hunters' Folklore: Are White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780) (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Cervidae), Movements Correlated with Meteorological or Astronomical Events?

This study investigated some elements of the folklore surrounding white-tailed deer hunting and determined if one or more of those elements can be scientifically falsified. To address this goal, we combined time-stamped images of moving white tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780) (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Cervidae) generated by trigger cameras placed in a rural site in Effort, Pennsylvania, and meteorological data from an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) station located at the Lehigh Valley International Airport (Hanover Township, Lehigh County) some 40 km south. The only element of the hunter's myths supported is that deer tend to move more at milder temperatures (0-10ºC and 20ºC). We also found that deer move more at a slightly below normal mean sea level pressure (1013.25 mbar, 29.92 inches of mercury), during a new and full moon, and when there are calm to mild winds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]