Deer Glands

Deer Glands and How they Use Them

As a hunter, understanding your prey beyond the basics can mean improved success rate on your hunts along with being a role model for other hunters so that they crave more knowledge on the animals they hunt. It also can be a valuable tool to conserve the hunt for those anti-hunters who wish to challenge that privilege yet have an ear for reason when you appear knowledgeable in the biology and ecology of a healthy environment and the science used to maintain it. As a revived hunter in my mid 40's I crave knowledge and spend my evening hours consuming information on deer, hunting, survival and travel and often spend my spare time testing this knowledge and theory for my own real world benefit in these same areas.

I am no biologist or ecologist but what I would like to do is break down valuable pieces of information I have been learning along the way to benefit whoever reads this and myself (of course).

By studying every deer or hunting book I can to develop my own methods that suit me, I have been able to observe many species of wildlife through extremely slow walks in the woods, long tree stand sits and with trail cameras. By watching deer walk and browse I have made not of where they stop and rub their heads against a branch, seen them them greet each other by sniffing their haunches and by placing a trail camera in the right place, I have watched them pee on a scrap down their legs.

This scent marking and sniffing is foreign to us, we just don't have the sensory power to make heads or tails of every scent that is aloft in the air or remains on the ground or on the forest plants and trees. We certainly don't smell each others glands for identification. With that, I am going to give a quick break down of the glands deer use to mark their territory for their own benefit and hopefully by having a basic understanding, we can use it to ours.

I will work my way from the head back.

This gland is located in a furless slice like opening that runs from the corner of the eyes closest to the nose and towards the mouth and nose. Secretions from the gland may be used for scent marking by gentle rubbing of this area on small branches. It could appear as though a doe or buck is scratching an itch however you may notice that when they may be scent marking, the movement is soft and delicate. Noticing a buck or doe smell these scent locations would be impossible to differentiate between general sniffing of a tree branch or smelling who has been there.

Preorbital Glands

The next time you fill a tag, take a moment to examine this small slit, look to see if any small branch or leaf matter is stuck to the sticky secretion, this would indicate they may have been scent marking along the way before making its way in your sights. If you are curious, smell it and see if you get a sense of ammonia.

Interdigital Gland

The next gland to be aware of is the interdigital gland. This gland is located between the two long toes of each foot, Right between the hoof marks you are always scanning the ground for is where the scent will be deposited. This gland is probably their most important gland for locating each other and more importantly their young after they get their footing. This gland continually secretes a waxy substance the collects on the small hairs between the toes and marks each foot print with each deer's individual scent. If you spread the toes apart and investigate you will find a small opening that a toothpick would slide into.

Tarsal Gland

The next gland, the tarsal gland, is the one most hunters are aware of because they are afraid that these glands will taint the meat harvested from the animal. This is true, any gland can taint the meat the gland comes in contact with however, most of the time, this occurs because a hunter messes with the gland trying to remove it. It you are really concerned with this gland, skin and part out your deer while it is hung from the head and not the back legs. If you hang it this way, use a saw and cut it back legs off above the joint a few inches to remove any chance of touching the gland. I still choose to hang my deer from the legs to aid in cooling the meat, I just steer clear of the tarsal area when I hang my deer.

The tarsal gland is located in that reverse bend in the back leg that is actually the ankle of the deer. It is a patch of fur about 3 inches in diameter. The follicles attached to the skin in this area act as duct work for the gland and channel secretions to the surface. The secretions emit pheromones but most of the smell is from urine. Deer will specifically urinate down their back legs and onto the tarsal glands making them especially pungent. This is why you will often see deer smell each others tarsal gland area when greeting each other while other animals tend to smell the anal, vaginal or penile area. Urine passing the tarsal gland and dripping to the ground may also aid in a who's who in the deer world by further giving off individual scents at key locations within its home range.

Metatarsal Gland

The metatarsal gland is not really understood as a scent marking or identification tool but can be seen on the outer lower part of the rear leg between the tarsal gland (ankle joint area) and the hoof.

The secretions at this location are not pungent enough for the human nose to sense any real odor but it is thought that this may be an indicator for other deer in marking bedding locations. The longer a deer's outer leg is on contact with the ground while bedding, the stronger the odor may be indicating that this is more of a safe location that other bedding areas that may not allow the metatarsal to ground contact for a longer period of time.

These are the most focused on glands on whitetail, mulies and blacktail deer and many studies are out there diving much deeper into how deer use them and how they differ from one subspecies to the next. The next time you happen to fill a tag, take a few moments to examine your kill and admire how it has come to be and exist in the world. Make notes if you can or take photos so you can research more about what you see later. Honor your prey each time by making it a goal to learn something new to you.