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Welcome to the first episode of the Down South Hunting Podcast! On this episode, we introduce Mike and Adam and speak with Wildlife Biologist for the National Forest Service Daryl Ratajczak. Daryl began his career working with black bears in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park focusing on research and education, which soon landed him a position with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. He was promoted to become the Agency’s Big Game Program Coordinator overseeing Tennessee’s deer, elk, black bear and wild hog programs. In 2001, Daryl was appointed as the Chief of Wildlife and Forestry for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The call of the mountains and a desire to get back into the field brought Daryl to his current position as a wildlife biologist for the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. He keeps tabs on the latest southern wildlife research and news since it has been a major part of his career and hunting experience.
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What You’ll Learn In This Episode:
- Summertime whitetail behavior
- Studies and thoughts on supplemental feeding
- Mineral stations: fact & fiction, realistic expectations, nutritional needs for a whitetail
- Food plots and how to use them
- Whitetail habitat
- Discussion of the core range of a whitetail
- The fluctuation of rut dates in the South
Show notes, resources, links:
Follow Daryl-
- Facebook- Daryl Ratajczak
- Instagram- darylratajczak
Daryl’s Blog- Nemophilosophy
Unforeseen Effects of Supplementary Feeding– Polish study showing effects of baiting on ground nesting bird predation.
Alabama Wildlife Document highlighting deer management issues with baiting and supplemental feeding.
