Identifying the Sex of Fallow Deer From Jawbone Measurements

Abstract

Multivariate discriminant analyses based on five jawbone measurements are used to identify the sex of fallow deer (Dama duma). This procedure was prompted by evidence that hunters were reporting the sex of deer incorrectly when contributing jawbones for a demographic study. Deer more than 2 years old could be sexed reliably from jawbone measurements, but measurements in younger deer overlapped between the sexes. Other keywords: sexual dimorphism, Blue Mountains, Otago, New Zealand.