Progeny Quality
Surprisingly, although the herd was supplementally fed, buck fawns raised by social does exhibited superior growth rates as compared to those raised by isolate does. In March, when we livetrapped the herd, social buck fawns weighed, on average, 91.3 pounds compared to 84.4 pounds for isolate buck fawns. But we saw no such difference among social versus isolate doe fawns, which weighed 71.1 pounds and 71.7 pounds, respectively.

The most plausible explanation for the difference noted in the growth rate is that buck fawns experienced certain nutritional benefits related to family living, a situation scientists refer to as “social facilitation.”

Presumably, the compatible association demonstrated by members of a cohesive clan enable buck fawns to obtain more (or perhaps better quality) forage in grazing over a larger ancestral range. Because males also are more independently active than females, buck fawns more frequently accompanied close kin to feeders independent of the mother’s schedule. By comparison, males reared by isolate does were entirely dependent upon maternal guidance.