ABSTRACT

Prominent Ecological Inuences ........................................................................................................... 566 Matorral Shrubs ................................................................................................................................ 566 Temperate Forests ............................................................................................................................. 567 Tropical Dry Forests ......................................................................................................................... 567 Tropical Evergreen or Rain Forests .................................................................................................. 568 South American Savannas ................................................................................................................. 568 Andean Páramo ................................................................................................................................. 568

Mexico ................................................................................................................................................... 569 Morphological Variation ................................................................................................................... 569 White-tailed Deer Diseases ................................................................................................................571 Population Status .............................................................................................................................. 572 Land Use and Human Impacts ......................................................................................................... 572 Habitat Management ......................................................................................................................... 572

Traditional Practices .................................................................................................................... 572 Active Habitat Management .........................................................................................................576 Habitat Evaluation Procedures ..................................................................................................... 577

Management Issues and Trends ........................................................................................................ 577 History and Legislation of White-tailed Deer Management ........................................................ 577 Traditional Use ............................................................................................................................. 578 UMA Model ................................................................................................................................. 578

Status and Conservation Areas .......................................................................................................... 579 Costa Rica .............................................................................................................................................. 580

Geographic Description of Region ................................................................................................... 580 Morphological Variation ................................................................................................................... 580 Prominent Ecological Inuences ...................................................................................................... 580

Predators ...................................................................................................................................... 580 Health ........................................................................................................................................... 580

Population Status ...............................................................................................................................581 Land Use and Human Impacts ...........................................................................................................581 Fire Effects and Management ............................................................................................................581 Habitat Use and Evaluation .............................................................................................................. 582 Management Issues and Trends ........................................................................................................ 582

Importance in Costa Rica ............................................................................................................. 582 Conservation and Management Efforts........................................................................................ 583 Translocation and Reintroduction Efforts .................................................................................... 584

Colombia and Venezuela ........................................................................................................................ 584 Morphological Variation ................................................................................................................... 585 Population Status .............................................................................................................................. 585

Latin America includes Mexico and Central and South America, with a great diversity of ecosystems and human cultures. Climate, elevation, soils, topography, vegetation, and wildlife are highly diverse, ranging from arid to tropical ecosystems. Language is one of the few characteristics common throughout Latin America; another commonality is the presence of the magnicent white-tailed deer, also known in Latin America as “venado cola blanca” and more than 30 other names in different indigenous dialects (Gallina et al., 2010). Twenty-four subspecies of white-tailed deer have been reported in Latin America (Chapter 1). The type of ecosystems and habitats occupied by deer in Mexico vary from the Sonoran desert in northwestern Mexico with 100 mm of annual precipitation, to the tropical rain forest in Chiapas with more than 3000 mm/year of rainfall. Morphological characteristics of white-tailed deer in Latin America also vary, from the majestic O. v. texanus subspecies with Boone and Crockett scores that can surpass 200 points to the beautiful O. v. truei in Costa Rica with antler scores of less than 100 points at maturity. Deer in Latin America have been an important game animal since pre-Columbian cultures; one of the 20 days of the Aztec calendar or sun stone was dedicated to the deer. The importance of deer for food, leather, and other products such as projectile points, bone scrapers, and needles has been reported by Méndez (1984) and more recently by Gallina et al. (2010).