We examined the seasonal migration and home-range dynamics of a multigenera
tion white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) matriline comprising six fe
males from four generations spanning a 20-year period in northeastern Minne
sota. All, from the matriarch to her great-granddaughter, migrated to the s
ame summer and winter ranges, the longest individual record being 14.5 year
s. Three maternal females concurrently occupied exclusive fawning sites wit
hin their ancestral matriarch's summer range, while two nonmaternal females
explored new areas and ranged near their mothers. One great-granddaughter
expanded her summer range I km beyond the matriarch's summer range while es
sentially vacating half of her ancestors' range and becoming nonmigratory t
he last 4 years of her Life. These data indicate that individual movements
of matriline members can potentially expand their ranges beyond the areas o
ccupied by their ancestors through a slow process of small incremental chan
ges. This suggests that the rapid extension of deer range in eastern North
America resulted from natal dispersal by yearling deer rather than from the
type of home-range expansion reported here.