TITLE:
Current Knowledge of White-Tailed Deer Feeding
AUTHORS:
Tyler A. Campbell
KEYWORDS:
Behavior, Diets, Economics, Feeding, Nutrition, Odocoileus virginianus, Productive Processes, Reproduction, White-Tailed Deer
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.15 No.10,
October
29,
2025
ABSTRACT: I conducted a comprehensive review of articles related to feeding white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to determine the state of knowledge, identify gaps with current understanding, and identify priorities for future white-tailed deer research involving feeding that could be informative to landowners, managers, and users. The 297 peer-reviewed articles on white-tailed deer feeding I reviewed were on a variety of topics. General trends were that half of articles involved feeding deer in captive settings to determine dietary, nutritional, physiological, or anatomical relationships. Few articles evaluated more complex topics, such as productive processes, health and disease, and ecosystem functioning, which are important to deer management decision-making. My analysis highlights that the science of wildlife management has not kept pace with the art (scope, scale, and realities) of people feeding white-tailed deer. Wildlife scientists should provide reliable, relevant information on feeding white-tailed deer to landowners and other decision-makers, particularly given how widespread the practice is, particularly in Texas, USA.