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Show Sportstaculcir RUuHe deer country Poge 16, 1979 October 1 8, 1 979 Big game management i$ based on scientific information. Much of it is gathered from hunters each deer season by Division of Wildlife Resources' personnel by field contacts and at checking stations. The brief interview provides information about numbers of hunters afield and deer taken from each herd unit. Checking stations are an important information source for hunters. The Division also has occasion to enforce wildlife laws. In many instances biologists will ask to remove one of the front teeth (central incisor) from a deer. This provides game managers with the exact age of each deer sampled. These known deer ages reflect the age composition of a deer herd. Deer build a new layer of "cementum" on their teeth each year, much like the annual rings of a tree. By freezing the collected tooth and slicing off a very thin layer, the biologist determines the exact age of the deer by the number of cementum rings viewed in a microscope. Before development of the cementum annuli process, biologists aged deer by examining the lower jaw. The following information will aid you in aging your own deer. Age ycur deer The replacement and wear of teeth on the lower jaw provides a means to determine its age. Simply cut the cheeks open back to the corner of the mouth to expose the entire lower jaw. A mature deer has twenty teeth on its lower jaw. There are eight incisors, six premolars, and six molars (Fig. 1). Fawns have an incomplete set of teeth, with three premolars and one molar on each side of the lower jaw (Fig. 2). . A yearling will have badly worn premolars. These are temporary teeth and will be replaced next year. The third premolar with three crowns is also characteristic of a yearling (Fig. 3). When replaced, this tooth will have only two crowns. r old deer has a full sat of permanent teeth. These are characThe terized by clean, unstained new premolars and molars with sharp, pointed crowns' showing little wear (Fig. 4). From here on, the age of your deer is determined by the relative amount of wear on the teeth. A mature prime deer (3-- 7 years old) has teeth that are still in good condition, showing wear, but some still having pointed crowns (Fig. 5). In the mature old class (8 years or older) the teeth will be worn almost flat, sometimes nearly to the gums (Fig. 6). Fig. 3 YEARLING Fig. 4 2 YEAR OLD ....... two-yea- THANK YOU Your cooperation with Division of Wildlife Resources' personnel at checking stations and in the field is appreciated. Fig. 5 MATURE PRIME (3-- 7 Years) Fig. 6 MATURE OLD Teeti Beefy Worn NO vrOWm Flat and Approaching (8 Years or Older) HUNTER'S THERE'S A' DIFFERENCE THINK BEFORE YOU SHOOT |