A few years ago, there were 6 deer that died in the woods near our place, I think predators got them personally. There is certainly no lack of food in this area, between gardens, and people feeding them. That's why Quispamsis is essentially a deer farm.
I can remember as a kid having huge snowfalls and massive snow banks. Winters have been getting slacker over the years. Altho I was shorter then than I am now, I have never seen snow drifts that reach the roof since I was a kid, and I still live in the same place, and its not near as cold now as it was then. My father used to plow through the snow drifts on the road in the old CJ-5 in the 70's. They were up to the hood in many places on our road. They actually had to bring in a bulldozer to clear snow once because the plow trucks could not do it.
I think a large number of deer die because of forestry practices. It pushes them out of a comfort zone, into a smaller clump where they are easy pickings for predators. Someone mentioned that clear cuts were loaded with food (saplings). This may be the case, but shelter is also important. A deer in the middle of a clear-cut sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't believe that a clear-cut is enough to sustain a herd of any size.
If a doe has 3 offspring, and only one survives, then we are going to lose our deer pretty quickly.
To address the issue; Conservation needs to focus on offspring survivability to boost herd numbers. It takes a few years for offspring to be mature enough for breeding and no shelter = short life.
I can remember as a kid having huge snowfalls and massive snow banks. Winters have been getting slacker over the years. Altho I was shorter then than I am now, I have never seen snow drifts that reach the roof since I was a kid, and I still live in the same place, and its not near as cold now as it was then. My father used to plow through the snow drifts on the road in the old CJ-5 in the 70's. They were up to the hood in many places on our road. They actually had to bring in a bulldozer to clear snow once because the plow trucks could not do it.
I think a large number of deer die because of forestry practices. It pushes them out of a comfort zone, into a smaller clump where they are easy pickings for predators. Someone mentioned that clear cuts were loaded with food (saplings). This may be the case, but shelter is also important. A deer in the middle of a clear-cut sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't believe that a clear-cut is enough to sustain a herd of any size.
If a doe has 3 offspring, and only one survives, then we are going to lose our deer pretty quickly.
To address the issue; Conservation needs to focus on offspring survivability to boost herd numbers. It takes a few years for offspring to be mature enough for breeding and no shelter = short life.