Whitetailed deer

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Whitetail Hunt Whitetail deer are said to be the most commonly hunted animal in North America. Throughout history, people that have lived in America have always wanted this animal for its meat and skin. With the large increase of hunters, our government has made rules and regulations to maintain the population of the famed whitetail deer. Whitetail deer are major game for hunters today and have been a staple resource as far back as the first Indians in America, being their prominent source of meat (known as venison). Native Americans used the entire deer for survival in wilderness. Because deerskin had so many uses, it was highly sought after at that time. The Native Americans would mainly use it for clothing in the colder weather. These simple uses of the animal kept these people alive in the harsh conditions of the wilderness. During this period of time, deer were not killed for fun or for sport. There are many different ways in which these hunters killed the whitetail deer in the past and still use some of these objects and methods today. Blunt objects, clubs, spears, knives, axes, harpoons, bow and arrow, traps, snares and guns are some of the objects used for hunting. The Native Americans’ main way of killing deer was bow and arrow. Native American’s methods of hunting were used for centuries. The arrival of the Europeans vastly altered the hunting process. The Native Americans understood hunting, and that is what they did best. Native Americans only hunted what they needed. The entire carcass was used and the other resources were not wasted. From the web site Le Moyne Pictures, a French explorer describes the Native Americans, "The Indians, when hunting deer, used ingenuity such as we had never seen before…” (Le Moyne Index 1994). A clever invention of these Indians was to modify the carcasses of the deer into disguises (1994). This innovation allowed the Indians to get very close to the deer. The disguises made killing them a lot easier with bows and arrows. According to the article, “How the Indians Hunt Deer,” the Native Americans were described as being skillful, “they were able to remove the deer skin and prepare it without any metal knife, just shells, with such skill that I doubt there was anyone in the whole of Europe who could do it better” (1994... ... middle of paper ... ...uld not be hunted for sport. The hunters of today kill this animal for sport and not for survival. A large change in the weaponry for deer hunting has made it easier for hunters to kill deer. Even though some meat and other resources are used, the outlook for deer is not the same as it used to be. The rules and regulations by our government play a large role in why this species are not been terminated from the North American landscape. Works Cited Hunting and Trapping Field Guide. 2003. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection at URL: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/license/ lichunt.html#eligibility Hunting. 2003. Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica Online at URL: http://www.search.eb.com/ebi/article?eu=296922 How the Indians Hunt Deer. 1994. Le Moyne Index at URL: http://pelotes.jea.com/ leMoyne.htm#b%20How%20the%20Indians%20Hunt%20Deer Hunting License Information. September 5, 2003. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at URL: http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/fguide/ fg03/ license.htm Hunting and Trapping. 2001. Pennsylvania Game Commission at URL: http://www.pgc. state.pa.us/huntrap/licenses/types.asp

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