|
John's Journal... Entry 130, Day 2 THE SUPER GENE Can Biologists Produce Monster Bucks? EDITOR'S
NOTE: What role does genes play in your local deer herd? Can the introduction
of a monster buck into a herd assure quality deer for years to come? The
answer to these and other questions will definitely surprise you. If a
Boone and Crockett buck was introduced into your deer herd, would he produce
super bucks? Could you buy a monstrous-sized Alberta buck and bring it
to Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas or Alabama and expect the buck to breed
with does and produce offspring with heavier body weights and larger antlers?
Through selective breeding, could you implant does with embryos that carry
super genes to produce offspring that become bigger bucks with wider racks?
To get the answer to these questions and many more about genes and their
potential, I talked with Dr. Harry Jacobson from the Department of Wildlife
and Fisheries at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
One of the nation's leading deer researchers, Jacobson currently studies
genetic effects on deer populations. Question: Looking at all the genetic engineering studies
concerning humans and livestock, do you believe biologists can produce
a monster buck with extremely large antlers? Question:
Therefore, even if you go to the trouble of trying to create a deer with
genes for a large rack and a heavy body weight, you still may not pass
those traits on to your herd if the native herd doesn't have good habitat
and the proper food? Question: If we take a 3-year-old buck weighing 250 pounds
with a 20-inch inside spread of the main beam that has 12 points, 8 inches
or longer, and release him into a wild population that hasn't produced
a buck of that caliber before, does research indicate that the buck's
offspring will exhibit heavy body weights and large antler development? Question:
If we release a super buck into a wild deer population, what effect will
the native doe's genes have on the offspring produced by that buck? Question:
What can hunters do to have trophy bucks in the areas where they hunt? TOMORROW: WHAT IS A TROPHY BUCK?
|
|||||||||
Check back each day this week for more about The Super Gene ... Day 1 - Do Monster Bucks
Produce Monster Bucks?
|